corsair
noun /kɔːˈseə(r)/
/kɔːrˈser/
(old use)- a pirate
- a privately owned merchantman that had the job of fighting in a war
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from French corsaire, from medieval Latin cursarius, from cursus ‘a raid, plunder’, special use of Latin cursus ‘course’, from currere ‘to run’.