buc·ca·neer (b k  -nîr )n. 1. A pirate, especially one of the freebooters who preyed on Spanish shipping in the West Indies during the 17th century. 2. A ruthless speculator or adventurer. [French boucanier, from boucaner, to cure meat, from boucan, barbecue frame, of Tupian origin; akin to Tupi mukém, rack.] buc ca·neer v.Word History: The Errol Flynn-like figure of the buccaneer pillaging the Spanish Main may seem less dashing if we realize that the term buccaneer corresponds to the word barbecuer. The first recorded use of the French word boucanier, which was borrowed into English, referred to a person on the islands of Hispaniola and Tortuga who hunted wild oxen and boars and smoked the meat in a barbecue frame known in French as a boucan. This French word came from a Tupi word meaning "a rack used for roasting or for storing things, or a racklike platform supporting a house." The original barbecuers seem to have subsequently adopted a more remunerative way of life, piracy, which accounts for the new meaning given to the word. Buccaneer is recorded first in 1661 in its earlier sense in English; the sense we are familiar with is recorded in 1690. |
buccaneer
Noun
a pirate, esp. in the Caribbean in the 17th and 18th centuries [French boucanier]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  buccaneer - someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nationBarbary pirate, corsair - a pirate along the Barbary Coast despoiler, freebooter, looter, pillager, plunderer, raider, spoiler - someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war) sea king - a Viking pirate chief |
| Verb | 1. | buccaneer - live like a buccaneer live - lead a certain kind of life; live in a certain style; "we had to live frugally after the war" |
buccaneer
Translations
buccaneer
n buccaneer [bakəˈniə]
a type of pirate. seerower, vrybuiter قُرصان пират bukanýr sørøver der Seeräuber κουρσάρος bucanero mereröövel دزد دریایی merirosvo boucanier שוֹדֵד יָם समूद्री डाकू gusar kalóz bajak laut bucaniere 海賊 해적 piratas, korsaras pirāts; jūras laupītājs lanun boekanier sjørøver korsarz pirata corsar пират pirát, korzár pirat pirat sjörövare โจรสลัด korsan 海盜 пірат بحری قزاق cướp biển 海盗
How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|