corsair

views updated May 11 2018

cor·sair / ˈkôrˌse(ə)r/ • n. archaic 1. a pirate. ∎  a privateer, esp. one operating along the southern coast of the Mediterranean in the 17th century.2. a pirate ship.

corsair

views updated Jun 08 2018

corsair privateer XV. Not in gen. use in this form before XVII, current early forms being corsale, cursarie, corsar(i)o. — F. corsaire, †c(o)ursaire, Sp. corsario, It. corsale, -are, †-ar(i)o :- Rom. (medL.) cursārius, f. cursa and cursus hostile inroad, plunder, COURSE.

corsair

views updated May 23 2018

corsair a privateer, especially one operating along the southern shore of the Mediterranean in the 17th century; the word comes (in the mid 16th century, via French) from medieval Latin cursarius, from cursus ‘a raid, plunder’.

Byron's poem The Corsair (1814) told the story of a pirate chief, Conrad, whose chivalry and courage in the end outweigh his vices; the poem had great popular success.

Corsair

views updated Jun 08 2018

Corsair ★★ 1931

Actioner about a gorgeous debutante and a handsome gangster who find themselves caught up with a gang of bootlegging pirates. Todd is always worth watching. 73m/B VHS, DVD . Chester Morris, Thelma Todd, Frank McHugh, Ned Sparks, Mayo Methot; D: Roland West.