Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “privateer” come from?

Privateer comes from English private, from Latin privatus, from Middle French -er, from Latin -are, from Latin -arius, from Latin -us.

privateer (English): A privately owned warship that had official...

Definitions

  1. A privately owned warship that had official...

Ancestry of “privateer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishprivateBelonging to, concerning, or accessible only to...
2Latinprīvātus—
3Latinprīvō—
4FrenchferripriveSuffering from a deficiency of iron
5Latinferrumiron; any tool made of iron; fight, clash
6Cornish-er—
7English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
8Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
9Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
10Latin-āre—
11Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
12Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
13Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
14Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
15Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “privateer”

  • privateersman
Every word from Chichewa iye →