What does privateer mean?
Definitions for privateer
ˌpraɪ vəˈtɪərpri·va·teer
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word privateer.
Princeton's WordNet
privateer, privateersmannoun
an officer or crew member of a privateer
privateernoun
a privately owned warship commissioned to prey on the commercial shipping or warships of an enemy nation
Wiktionary
privateernoun
A privately owned warship that had official sanction to attack enemy ships and take possession of their cargo.
privateernoun
An officer or any other member of the crew of such a ship.
privateernoun
A private individual entrant into a race or competition who does not have the backing of a large, professional team.
privateerverb
To function under official sanction permitting attacks on enemy shipping and seizing ship and cargo; to engage in government-sponsored piracy.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Privateernoun
A ship fitted out by private men to plunder enemies.
Etymology: from private.
He is at no charge for a fleet, further than providing privateers, wherewith his subjects carry on a pyratical war at their own expence. Jonathan Swift, Miscellanies.
To Privateerverb
To fit out ships against enemies, at the charge of private persons.
Etymology: from the noun.
Wikipedia
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as a letter of marque, during wartime. The commission empowered the holder to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war. This included attacking foreign vessels and taking them as prizes, and taking prize crews as prisoners for exchange. Captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided by percentage between the privateer's sponsors, shipowners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission (i.e. the sovereign). Privateering allowed sovereigns to raise revenue for war by mobilizing privately owned armed ships and sailors to supplement state power. For participants, privateering provided the potential for a greater income and profit than obtainable as a merchant seafarer or fisher. However, this incentive increased the risk of privateers turning to piracy when war ended. The commission usually protected privateers from accusations of piracy, but in practice the historical legality and status of privateers could be vague. Depending on the specific sovereign and the time period, commissions might be issued hastily; privateers might take actions beyond what was authorized in the commission, including after its expiry. A privateer who continued raiding after the expiration of a commission or the signing of a peace treaty could face accusations of piracy. The risk of piracy and the emergence of the modern state system of centralised military control caused the decline of privateering by the end of the 19th century.
ChatGPT
privateer
A privateer is an individual or a private ship authorized by a government through a license or letter of marque to attack and capture enemy vessels during wartime. Unlike pirates, they are considered legitimate by their own government. Their main purpose is typically to disrupt enemy trade, and they often keep captured cargo as a form of payment.
Webster Dictionary
Privateernoun
an armed private vessel which bears the commission of the sovereign power to cruise against the enemy. See Letters of marque, under Marque
Privateernoun
the commander of a privateer
Privateerverb
to cruise in a privateer
Etymology: [From Private.]
Wikidata
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend treasury resources or commit naval officers. They were of great benefit to a smaller naval power or one facing an enemy dependent on trade: they disrupted commerce and pressured the enemy to deploy warships to protect merchant trade against commerce raiders. The cost was borne by investors hoping to profit from prize money earned from captured cargo and vessels. The proceeds would be distributed among the privateer's investors, officers, and crew. Privateers were part of naval warfare from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Some privateers have been particularly influential in the annals of history. Sometimes the vessels would be commissioned into regular service as warships. The crew of a privateer might be treated as prisoners of war by the enemy country if captured. Historically, the distinction between a privateer and a pirate has been, practically speaking, vague, often depending on the source as to which label was correct in a particular circumstance. The actual work of a pirate and a privateer is generally the same; it is, therefore the authorization and perceived legality of the actions that form the distinction. At various times governments indiscriminately granted authorization for privateering to a variety of ships, so much so that would-be pirates could easily operate under a veil of legitimacy.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Privateer
prī-va-tēr′, n. an armed private vessel commissioned by a government to seize and plunder an enemy's ships: the commander of a privateer.—v.i. to cruise in a privateer: to fit out privateers.—ns. Privateer′ing; Privateer′sman.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
Privateer
a private vessel licensed by Government under a letter of marque to seize and plunder the ships of an enemy, otherwise an act of the kind is treated as piracy.
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of privateer in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of privateer in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
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"privateer." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/privateer>.
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