sailor or officer of a warship; warship, ship commissioned by a government to fight enemies
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Privateer Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
(v. i.)
To cruise in a privateer.
To cruise in a privateer.
(n.)
The commander of a privateer.
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. AboutAn armed private vessel which bears the commission of the sovereign power to cruise against the enemy. See Letters of marque, under Marque.
privateer
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privateer
\pri`va*teer"\ (prī`v&adot;*tēr"), n. [from private.]
1. an armed private vessel which bears the commission of the sovereign power to cruise against the enemy. see letters of marque, under marque.
2. the commander of a privateer. kidd soon threw off the character of a privateer and became a pirate.
privateer
\pri`va*teer"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. privateered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. privateering.] to cruise in a privateer.
A vessel owned and officered by private persons, but carrying on maritime war.
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 Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers. They were of great benefit to a smaller naval power or one facing an enemy dependent on trade: they disrupted commerce and pressured the enemy to deploy warships to protect merchant trade against commerce raiders. The cost was borne by investors hoping to profit from prize money earned from captured cargo and vessels. The proceeds would be distributed among the privateer's investors, officers, and crew. It has been argued that privateering was a less destructive and wasteful form of warfare, because the goal was to capture ships rather than to sink them.
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Privateer Definition from Law Dictionaries & Glossaries
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.
Courtesy of the 'Lectric Law Library.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.
