privateer – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
privateer
n.
sailor or officer of a warship; warship, ship commissioned by a government to fight enemies
Privateer
A
privateer (sometimes called
corsair or
buccaneer) was a private person or ship authorized by a government by
letters of marque to attack foreign vessels during wartime, and take them as prizes. Captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under
prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer shipowners and crew. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors as naval auxilliaries.
privateer
Noun
1. an officer or crew member of a privateer
(synonym) privateersman
(hypernym) officer, ship's officer
(hyponym) Hawkins, Hawkyns, Sir John Hawkins, Sir John Hawkyns
2. a privately owned warship commissioned to prey on the commercial shipping or warships of an enemy nation
(hypernym) warship, war vessel, combat ship
Privateer
(v. i.)
To cruise in a privateer.
(n.)
The commander of a privateer.
(n.)
An armed private vessel which bears the commission of the sovereign power to cruise against the enemy. See Letters of marque, under Marque.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
Privateer
A vessel owned by one or by a society of private individuals, armed and equipped at his or their expense, for the purpose of carrying on a maritime war by the authority of one of the belligerent parties.
For the purpose of encouraging the owners of private armed vessels, they are usually allowed to appropriate to themselves the property they capture, or at least a large proportion of it.
This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.