buccaneer

English

Alternative forms

• bucanier (obsolete)
• buccanier (archaic)

Etymology

From French boucanier, from boucaner (“to smoke or broil meat and fish, to hunt wild beasts for their skins”), from boucan (“(Tupi-style) grill”), from Old Tupi moka'ẽ, mboka'ẽ (“wooden grill”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbʌkəˈnɪɚ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

buccaneer (plural buccaneers)

1. (nautical) Any of a group of seamen who cruised on their own account on the Spanish Main and in the Pacific in the 17th century, who were similar to pirates but did not prey on ships of their own nation.
   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part I (The Old Buccaneer), page 48:

     “Heard of him!” cried the squire. “Heard of him, you say! He was the bloodthirstiest buccaneer that sailed. […] ”

2. A pirate.

Synonyms

• privateer, pirate, see also Thesaurus:pirate

Derived terms

• buccaneering
• buccaneerish

Translations

a group of seamen

• Czech: bukanýr (cs) m
• Dutch: kaper (nl) m, boekanier (nl) m
• Finnish: bukkaneeri (fi), merirosvo (fi)
• French: boucanier (fr) m
• Italian: bucaniere (it) m
• Polish: kaper (pl) m, bukanier (pl) m, korsarz (pl)
• Swedish: buckanjär (sv) c

pirate

• Dutch: boekanier (nl) m, piraat (nl) m
• Esperanto: marrabisto
• Greek:

  Ancient: πειρατής m (peiratḗs)

• Hebrew: בּוּקָנִיר (he) m (bukanir)
• Ido: pirato (io)
• Italian: bucaniere (it) m, pirata (it) m, corsaro (it) m
• Polish: bukanier (pl) m, pirat (pl) m, korsarz (pl) m
• Portuguese: bucaneiro (pt) m
• Russian: пират (ru) m (pirat)
• Swedish: buckanjär (sv) c, sjörövare (sv) c, pirat (sv) c
• Welsh: môr-ysbeiliwr m, môr-ysbeilwyr m pl

Verb

buccaneer (third-person singular simple present buccaneers, present participle buccaneering, simple past and past participle buccaneered)

1. To engage in piracy against any but one's own nation's ships.
   • 1963, John Day, edited by Arthur Henry Bullen, The Works of John Day, page v:

     In 1596 and 1597 he bucaneered against Sao Thomi, the Portuguese slaving settlement off the coast of West Africa, and in the Spanish Main

See also

• Jolly Roger
• skull and crossbones