It derives from a Latin word meaning "run" and it
denotes the Barbary-Coast Pirates who terrorized European shipping in the 17th
and 18th centuries. What word is it?
Etymology, Etymology, and more Etymology
as well as grammar, usage, euphemism, slang, jargon, semantics, linguistics, neologism, idiom, cant, and argot.
The critically-acclaimed board game
MooT
consists of tough questions about the nuances of the English language.
Answer:
corsair
The word corsair derives from the Latin
cursarius, which in turn derives from the Latin
currere, run. The Barbary Coast was the coast of North-West
Africa where the Berbers lived.
Feedback
Oh, a very nice etymological puzzle! Thank you for putting a little
"arrrr" in my morning. I remember a model of Chevrolet, the Corsair, from the
1960s (?).
ctwordsmith at yahoo.com
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From Webster's New Riverside University Dictionary, 1984.
[OFr. corsiare < OProv. corsari < OITal. corsaro < Med. Lat cursarius
< cursus, plunder< Lat. cursus, course.] "Course," then goes back to
run.
dianep at tritel.net
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Nice puzzle. The answers still didn't help
with the etymology. Until i figured out that: 1. "Course" can mean a path, to
move swiftly over, and to hunt. 2. "Corsair" is often thought of as being
nearly synonomous with "Pirate."
But the barbary
Corsairs were charactarized as using particularily fast, light sailing galleys.
For more on the indo-european root "Kers" see this page:
http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE228.html
mpecho. at .rdrop.com
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