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letters of marque

pl.n.

A document issued by a government in a time of war allowing private ships to attack the ships and seize the property and citizens of a hostile nation.

[Middle English letters of mark, from Old French marque, mark, seizure, reprisal; see MARQUETRY.]

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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