buccaneer

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation
  2. verb live like a buccaneer

Etymology

From French boucanier, from boucaner (“to smoke or broil meat and fish, to hunt wild beasts for their skins”), from boucan (“(Tupi-style) grill”), from Old Tupi moka'ẽ, mboka'ẽ (“wooden grill”). By surface analysis, buccan + -eer.

In classic literature

Synonyms

pirate, sea robber, sea rover

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