piracy
/ˈpaɪɹəsi/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.52 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Robbery at sea, a violation of international law; taking a ship away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A similar violation of international law, such as hijacking of an aircraft.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The unauthorized duplication of goods protected by intellectual property law.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "How should the international community respond to Somali piracy?"
- "Some video game consoles use specially designed cartridges to make software piracy more difficult."
Etymology
From Medieval Latin pīrātia, from Classical Latin pīrāta + ia, or Ancient Greek πειρατεία (peirateía). The sense of “unauthorized duplication” developed in England between 1660 and 1710. The English Crown granted strict monopolies over book printing to specific guilds, such as the Stationers’ Company. Printing a book without permission was framed as an unlawful attack on the Crown’s authority and revenues. By labeling rogue printers as “pirates”, authorized booksellers equated them with sea robbers operating outside the bounds of civilized society. By the passage of the Statute of Anne in 1710, this usage was deeply entrenched in public consciousness as the definitive descriptor for the unauthorized duplication of books, and was later applied seamlessly to new media as they emerged.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: pīrātia, pīrāta, πειρατεία