buc·ca·neer
(bŭk′ə-nîr′)n.
1. A pirate, especially one of the freebooters who plundered Spanish shipping in the West Indies during the 17th century.
2. A ruthless speculator or adventurer.
intr.v. buc·ca·neered, buc·ca·neer·ing, buc·ca·neers
1. To plunder shipping; act as a buccaneer.
2. To show boldness and enterprise, as in business, often in a reckless or unscrupulous way.
[French boucanier, from boucaner, to cure meat, from boucan, barbecue frame, of Tupian origin; akin to Tupí mukém, rack.]
Word History: When it is first attested in the middle of the 17th century, the French word boucanier, later borrowed into English as buccaneer, referred to French traders on the islands of Hispaniola and Tortuga. The traders hunted the feral cattle and boars on the islands for their hides, and they smoked the meat in a barbecue frame known in French as a boucan. The French word came from the Tupí word for a wooden rack used for roasting. The original barbecuing buccaneers subsequently adopted a more remunerative way of life, piracy, which accounts for the modern meanings of the English word.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
buccaneering
(ˌbʌkəˈnɪərɪŋ)adj
inclined to take risks and be dishonest
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  buccaneering - hijacking on the high seas or in similar contexts; taking a ship or plane away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it; "air piracy"highjacking, hijacking - robbery of a traveller or vehicle in transit or seizing control of a vehicle by the use of force |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.