the.com/pirate
A businessman who skipped the paperwork and kept the sword.
means Someone who robs ships at sea — or, these days, anyone who takes what they want without bothering to license, pay, or ask.
from From Greek 'peirates,' meaning 'one who attacks,' built on 'peiran,' to attempt or attack — the same root underlying 'peril.' It sailed through Latin 'pirata' into English by the 1300s, always carrying that sense of a risky, violent attempt on someone else's goods.
- democracy at sea
- Many pirate crews voted on captains and split loot evenly
- golden age
- Peaked roughly 1650 to 1730, not medieval at all
- disability insurance
- Some crews paid compensation for lost limbs, like Blackbeard's Articles
- flag meaning
- Jolly Roger signaled surrender now, mercy possible, before blood flag flew