Translation
pirate
Word origin
From Latin pirata, borrowed from Greek peiratēs, one who attacks or makes an attempt, built on peira, a trial or attempt. The raider is literally the person having a go, which is a good deal less romantic than the hat suggests.
- Origin
- Greek, via Latin
- Root
- peiratēs
- English cognates
- pirate, empirical
Examples
.
The boys played at being pirates on the sand.
.
An old pirate hid his treasure on the island.
.
The pirates' ship flew a black flag.
A clean international root with nothing to take apart: - is one piece,
and the -o is only the noun ending Rule 2 puts on everything. Add the usual
machinery and it behaves like any other person-noun: for a crew,
o for a woman with a cutlass, pirata for anything piratical, and
o for the trade itself.
The root has travelled well beyond the sea. Esperanto uses pirati and
o for copying films and software, exactly as English does, and
kopipirato turns up in the movement's press. That is worth noticing: an
international root borrowed for one meaning will usually follow English into
its metaphors, because the metaphor is international too.
The Greek is the fun part. Peira means an attempt or a trial, and the same
root sits inside English empirical, knowledge gained by trying things. A
pirate, etymologically, is a chancer.
Where this fits
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pirato: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "pirato" (pirate): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 41.