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.
buccaneer
(ˌbʌkəˈnɪə)n
(Historical Terms) a pirate, esp one who preyed on the Spanish colonies and shipping in America and the Caribbean in the 17th and 18th centuries
vb (intr)
to be or act like a buccaneer
[C17: from French boucanier, from boucaner to smoke meat, from Old French boucan frame for smoking meat, of Tupian origin; originally applied to French and English hunters of wild oxen in the Caribbean]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
buc•ca•neer
(ˌbʌk əˈnɪər)n.
a pirate, esp. one who raided Spanish colonies and ships along the American coast in the second half of the 17th century.
[1655–65; < French boucanier, literally, barbecuer]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
buccaneer
Past participle: buccaneered
Gerund: buccaneering
| Imperative |
|---|
| buccaneer |
| buccaneer |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| 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" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
buccaneer
noun pirate, privateer, corsair, freebooter, sea-rover the villainous buccaneer with the peg-leg and the parrot
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
قُرصان
bukanýr
sørøver
sjóræningi
korsaraspiratas
jūras laupītājspirāts
korzár
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
buccaneer
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
buccaneer
(bakəˈniə) noun a type of pirate.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.