privateer
- Noun:
- A privately owned armed ship authorized by a government to attack and capture enemy vessels during wartime: A privateer is a civilian ship that operates under a government commission (called a letter of marque) to harass an enemy's commerce or naval forces.
- The commander or a crew member of such a ship: The term also refers to the captain or sailors serving on a commissioned private armed vessel.
Noun (Ship): The wealthy merchant outfitted his ship as a privateer to raid enemy supply lines. During the war, the harbor was filled with privateers seeking commissions from the government.
Noun (Person): The famous privateer amassed a fortune by capturing enemy merchantmen. He signed on as a privateer, lured by the promise of prize money from captured cargo.
Historical Context: The practice of privateering was common from the 16th to the 19th centuries and was considered a legal form of warfare, distinct from piracy, which was unauthorized. The distinction between a privateer and a pirate was the letter of marque from a sovereign state.
"To go privateering": The act of engaging in privateer warfare. Many sailors left the navy to go privateering for the chance of greater profit.
- Privateering (n): The practice or career of operating as a privateer.
- Commerce raider: A ship or person engaged in attacking commercial shipping.
- Corsair: Often used synonymously, though historically associated with privateers operating in the Mediterranean.
- Letter of marque (and reprisal): The official government commission authorizing a privateer to attack enemy targets.
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a privately owned warship commissioned to prey on the commercial shipping or warships of an enemy nation
-
an officer or crew member of a privateer
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