Meaning

noun a pirate along the Barbary Coast

noun a swift pirate ship (often operating with official sanction)

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- Proto-Indo-European *-éti Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti Proto-Italic *korzō Medieval Latin currō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Medieval Latin -sus Medieval Latin cursus Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Medieval Latin -āriusnom. Medieval Latin -ārius Medieval Latin cursāriusder. Italian corsarobor. French corsairebor.…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0