Definition of buccaneer in English

WordNet

Verb

buccaneers, buccaneering, buccaneered

buccaneer - live like a buccaneer

live lead a certain kind of life; live in a certain style; "we had to live frugally after the war"

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

buccaneer (Noun)
Any of a group of seamen who cruised on their own account on the Spanish Main and in the Pacific in the 17th century; similar to pirates but did not prey on ships of their own nation.
buccaneer (Noun)
A pirate.
buccaneer (Verb)
To engage in piracy against any but one's own nation's ships.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

buccaneer (n.)
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.
buccaneer (v. i.)
To act the part of a buccaneer; to live as a piratical adventurer or sea robber.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

buccaneer
Buccanier, buk-an-ēr′, n. one of the piratical adventurers in the West Indies during the 17th century, who plundered the Spaniards chiefly.—v.i. to act as a buccaneer.—n. Buccaneer′ing.—adj. Buccaneer′ish. [Fr. boucaner, to smoke meat—Carib. boucan, a wooden gridiron. The French settlers in the W.I. cooked their meat on a boucan in native fashion, and were hence called boucaniers.]

Marine DictionaryUniversal Dictionary of the Marine ⚓️

buccaneer
a name given to certain piratical rovers of various European nations, who formerly infested the Spanish coasts in America, and, under pretence of traffic with the inhabitants, frequently seized their treasure, plundered their houses, and committed many other depredations.
Ship-BUILDING may be defined the manner of constructing ships, or the work itself, as distinguished from naval architecture, which we have rather considered as the theory or art of delineating ships on a plane, and to which this article may properly be understood as a supplement.
The pieces by which this complicated machine is framed, are joined together in various places, by scarfing, rabitting, tenanting, and scoring. See those articles.
During the construction of a ship, she is supported in the dock, or upon a wharf, by a number of solid blocks of timber placed at equal distances from, and parallel to, each other, as may be seen in the article LANCHING; she is then said to be on the stocks.
The first piece of timber laid upon the blocks is generally the keel; I say generally, because, of late, a different method has been adopted in some of the royal dock-yards, by beginning with the floor-timbers; the artists having found that the keel is often apt to rot during the long period of building a large ship of war. The pieces of the keel, as exhibited in plate I. are scarfed together, and bolted, forming one entire piece, A A. which constitutes the length of the vessel below. At one extremity of the keel is erected the stem. It is a strong piece of timber incurvated nearly into a circular arch, or, according to the technical term, compassing, so as to project outwards at the upper-end, forming what is called the rake forward. In small vessels this is framed of one piece, but in large ships it is composed of several pieces scarfed and bolted together, as expressed in the explanation of plate I. PIECES of the HULL, and in those terms separately. At the other extremity of the keel, is elevated the stern-post, which is always of one entire strait piece. The heel of it is let into a mortise in the keel, and having its upper-end to hang outwards, making an obtuse angle with the keel, like that of the stem: this projection is called the rake abaft. The stern-post, which ought to support the stern, contains the iron-work or hinges of the rudder, which are called googings, and unites the lower-part of the ship’s sides abaft. See the connexion of those pieces in the ELEVATION, pl. I.
Towards the upper-end of the stern-post, and at right angles with its length, is fixed the middle of the wing-transom, where it is firmly bolted. Under this is placed another piece parallel thereto, and called the deck-transom, upon which the after-end of the lower-deck is supported. Parallel to the deck-transom, and at a proper distance under it, another piece is fixed to the stern-post, called the first transom, all of which serve to connect the stern-post to the fashion pieces. Two more transoms, called the second and third, are also placed under these, being likewise attached to the fashion pieces, into which the extremities of all the transoms are let, as exhibited in plate X. fig. 1. The fashion-pieces are formed like the other timbers of the ship, and have their heels resting on the upper-part of the kelson, at the after extremity of the floor ribbands.
All these pieces, viz. the transoms, the fashion-pieces, and their top-timbers, being strongly united into one frame, are elevated upon the stern-post, and the whole forms the structure of the stern, upon which the galleries and windows, with their ornaments, are afterwards built,
The stem and stern-post being thus elevated upon the keel, to which they are securely connected by knees and arched pieces of timber bolted to both; and the keel being raised at its two extremities by pieces of dead-wood, the midship floor-timber is placed across the keel, whereto it is bolted through the middle. The floor-timbers before and abaft the midship-frame are then stationed in their proper places upon the keel; after which the kelson, which, like the keel, is composed of several pieces scarfed together, is fixed across the middle of the floor-timbers, to which it is attached by bolts driven through the keel, and clinched on the upper-part of the kelson. The futtocks are then raised upon the floor-timbers, and the hawse-pieces erected upon the cant-timbers in the fore-part of the ship. The top-timbers on each side are next attached to the head of the futtocks, as already explained in the article naval ARCHITECTURE. The frames of the principal timbers being thus completed, are supported by ribbands, as exhibited in the plate referred to from the article RIBBANDS.
The ribs of the ship being now stationed, they proceed to fix on the planks, of which the wales are the principal, being much thicker and stronger than the rest; as is represented in the MIDSHIP-FRAME. The harpins, which may be considered as a continuation of the wales at their fore-ends, are fixed across the hawse-pieces, and surround the fore-part of the ship. The planks that inclose the ship’s sides are then brought about the timbers, and the clamps, which are of equal thickness with the wales, fixed opposite to the wales within the ship; these are used to support the ends of the beams, and accordingly stretch from one end of the ship to the other. The thick stuff, or strong planks of the bottom within-board, are then placed opposite to the several scarfs of the timbers, to reinforce them throughout the ship’s length. The planks employed to line the ship, called the ceiling, or foot-waling, is next fixed in the intervals between the thick-stuff of the hold. The beams are afterwards laid across the ship to support the decks, and are connected to the side by lodging and hanging knees; the former of which are exhibited in their proper stations in plate III. F. and the hanging ones, together with the breadth, thickness, and position of the keel, floor-timbers, futtocks, top timbers, wales, clamps, thick-stuff, planks within and without, beams, decks, &c. are seen in the MIDSHIP-FRAME.
The cable-bits being next erected, the carlings and ledges, which are represented in plate III. and described in their proper places, are disposed between the beams to strengthen the deck. The water-ways are then laid on the ends of the beams throughout the ship’s length, and the spirketting fixed close above them. The upper-deck is then planked, and the string placed under the gunnel or plansheer in the waist. The disposition of those latter pieces on the timbers, viz. the water-ways, spirketting, upper-deck, string, and gunnel, are also represented in the MIDSHIP-FRAME.
They proceed next to plank the quarter-deck and forecastle, and to fix the partners of the masts and capsterns with the coamings of the hatches. The breast-hooks are then bolted across the stem and bow within-board, the step of the fore-mast placed on the kelson; and the riders, exhibited in the MIDSHIP-FRAME, fayed on the inside of the timbers to reinforce the sides in different places of the ship’s length. The pointers, if any, are afterwards fixed across the hold diagonally to support the beams; and the crotches stationed in the after-hold to unite the half-timbers. The steps of the main-mast and capsterns are next placed; the planks of the lower-decks and orlop laid; the navel hoods fayed on the hawse-holes; and the knee of the head, or cutwater, connected to the stem. The figure of the head is then erected, and the trail-board and cheeks fixed on the sides of the knee.
The taffarel and quarter pieces, which terminate the ship abaft, the former above, and the latter on each side, are then disposed; and the stern and quarter galleries framed and supported by their brackets. The pumps, with their well, are next fixed in the hold; the limber-boards laid on each side of the kelson, and the garboard strake fixed on the ship’s bottom next to the keel without.
The hull being thus fabricated, they proceed to separate the apartments by bulk-heads, or partitions; to frame the port-lids; to fix the catheads and chess-trees; to form the hatchways and scuttles, and fit them with proper covers or gratings. They next fix the ladders whereby to mount or descend the different hatchways, and build the manger on the lower deck, to carry off the water that runs in at the hawse-holes when the ship rides at anchor in a sea. The bread-room and magazines are then lined, and the gunnel, rails, and gangways, fixed on the upper part of the ship. The cleats, kevels, and ranges, by which the ropes are. fastened, are afterwards bolted or nailed to the sides. in different places.
The rudder, being fitted with its irons, is next hung to the stern-post; and the tiller, or bar, by which it is managed, let into a mortise at its upper-end. The scuppers, or leaden tubes, that carry the water off from the decks, are then placed in holes cut through the ship’s sides; and the standards, represented in the MIDSHIP-FRAME, bolted to the beams and sides above the decks to which they belong. The poop-lanthorns are last fixed upon their cranes over the stern, and the bilge-ways, or cradles, placed under the bottom, to conduct the ship steadily into the water whilst lanching.
As the various pieces, which have been mentioned above, are explained at large in their proper places, with references to their figures according to the plan of this work, it would have been superfluous to have entered into a more particular description of them here. It is perhaps necessary to observe, that as the theory ought always to precede the practice, this article would probably be much better understood by previously reading that of Naval ARCHITECTURE, which may be considered as a proper introduction to it.

Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book ⛵

buccaneer
A name given to certain piratical rovers, of various European nations, who formerly infested the coasts of Spanish America. They were originally inoffensive settlers in Hispaniola, but were inhumanly driven from their habitations by the jealous policy of the Spaniards; whence originated their implacable hatred to that nation. Also, a large musketoon, about 8 feet in length, so called from having been used by those marauders.