Hypertext Webster Gateway: "buccaneer"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Buccaneer \Buc`ca*neer"\, n. [F. boucanier, fr. boucaner to
smoke or broil meat and fish, to hunt wild beasts for their
skins, boucan a smoking place for meat or fish, gridiron for
smoking: a word of American origin.]
A robber upon the sea; a pirate; -- a term applied especially
to the piratical adventurers who made depredations on the
Spaniards in America in the 17th and 18th centuries. [Written
also {bucanier}.]
Note: Primarily, one who dries and smokes flesh or fish after
the manner of the Indians. The name was first given to
the French settlers in Hayti or Hispaniola, whose
business was to hunt wild cattle and swine.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Buccaneer \Buc`ca*neer"\, v. i.
To act the part of a buccaneer; to live as a piratical
adventurer or sea robber.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
buccaneer
n : someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea
without having a commission from any sovereign nation
[syn: {pirate}, {sea robber}, {sea rover}]
v : live like a buccaneer
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