privateer
Sanctioned maritime predator
A privateer is a privately owned ship authorized by a government to attack enemy vessels during wartime, or the captain or crew of such a ship.
The authorization came through a "letter of marque," which distinguished privateers from pirates—though the line often blurred in practice.
British privateers harassed French merchant ships throughout the war.
The term sometimes extends to anyone who profits from conflict while operating in legal gray areas.
Caribbean colonial-era pirate
- freebooterMaritime plunderer seeking booty
- corsairPirate or pirate ship
- raiderOne who attacks suddenly
- sea roverMaritime plunderer
marauder · filibuster · reaver · piratical · Jolly Roger · black flag · skull and crossbones · plunder
State license to raid enemies
- commissionPayment for services rendered
- charterFounding organizational document
- authorizationFormal permission granted
- licensingGranting official permission
prize money · admiralty · condemnation · sovereignty · neutrality · warfare · hostilities · reprisal
Medium-sized naval warship
- brigantineTwo-masted mixed-rig vessel
- schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
- sloopOne-masted fore-and-aft rigger
- man-of-warArmed sailing vessel
galleon · clipper · gunboat · cannonade · broadside · armament · cutlass · flintlock
Adult male duck
- RaleighNorth Carolina capital
- MorganAmerican horse breed
- KiddInfamous maritime raider
- BarbaryHistoric North African coast
Caribbean · Spanish Main · golden age · colonial · Elizabethan · wartime · naval warfare · empire
One who navigates ships
- seafarerOne who navigates oceans
- captainOne who commands
- quartermasterOfficer managing military supplies
- crewWorking team aboard
deckhand · gunner · navigator · shipmate · sailing · voyage · ocean · nautical
One who sells wares
- tradeExchange of commodities
- cargoTransported goods
- goodsThings for sale
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
smuggling · mercantile · shipping · export · import · trading · supply · marketplace
buccaneer
Caribbean colonial-era pirate
- freebooterMaritime plunderer seeking booty
- corsairPirate or pirate ship
- raiderOne who attacks suddenly
sea rover · marauder · filibuster · reaver · piratical · Jolly Roger · black flag · skull and crossbones · plunder · pillage
letters of marque
State license to raid enemies
- commissionPayment for services rendered
- charterFounding organizational document
- authorizationFormal permission granted
licensing · prize money · admiralty · condemnation · sovereignty · neutrality · warfare · hostilities · reprisal · belligerent
frigate
Medium-sized naval warship
- brigantineTwo-masted mixed-rig vessel
- schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
- sloopOne-masted fore-and-aft rigger
man-of-war · galleon · clipper · gunboat · cannonade · broadside · armament · cutlass · flintlock · cannon
Drake
Adult male duck
Barbary · Caribbean · Spanish Main · golden age · colonial · Elizabethan · wartime · naval warfare · empire · Atlantic
mariner
One who navigates ships
- seafarerOne who navigates oceans
- captainOne who commands
- quartermasterOfficer managing military supplies
crew · deckhand · gunner · navigator · shipmate · sailing · voyage · ocean · nautical · sea dog
merchant
One who sells wares
contraband · smuggling · mercantile · shipping · export · import · trading · supply · marketplace · auction
- maritimeships, ship, boat, boats, anchors
- watercraftboat, sailboat, kayak, canoe, ships
- motorsportsracing, race, race tracks, Daytona 500, racing teams
- Piratespirate, buccaneer, corsair, corsairs, eyepatch
- Caribbean Piracypirate, buccaneer, corsair, Port Royal, Spanish Main
- daredevilsbase jumper, stuntwoman, stuntman, cliff diver, stunt driver
privateerpirate
Maritime thief or bootlegger
buccaneer · freebooter · outlaw · corsair · sea rover
privateernaval officer
Ranked military sailor
man-of-war · navy sailor · warship · naval vessel · commissioned officer
privateermerchant ship
Vessel for transporting goods
merchantman · cargo ship · merchant marine · commercial vessel · trader
- in privateNot publicly observed
- private partsReproductive bodily regions
- private lifeOne's nonpublic existence
- private schoolTuition-funded educational institution
- private eyeHired investigator, unlicensed
- private propertyIndividually owned assets