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cor·sair

(kôrsâr′)

1. A pirate or privateer, especially along the Barbary Coast.

2. A swift pirate ship, often operating with official sanction.

[French corsaire, from Old Provençal corsari, from Old Italian corsaro, from Medieval Latin cursārius, from cursus, plunder, from Latin, run, course; see COURSE.]

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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