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buc·ca·neer

(bŭk′ə-nîr)

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.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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