Where does “pirater” come from?
pirater (French) comes from French pirate, from Old French pirate, from Latin pīrāta, from Ancient Greek πειρατής, from Ancient Greek -τής, from Ancient Greek πεῖρα, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.
pirater (French): to pirate; to hack
Ancestry of “pirater”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | pirate | pirate |
| 2 | Old French | pirate | pirate |
| 3 | Latin | pīrāta | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | πειρατής | brigand, robber |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |