corsair

/kɔːɹsɛəɹ/

//kɔːɹsɛəɹ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"corsair" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“corsair” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,665. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,665
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A French privateer, especially from the port of Saint-Malo.

Corpus desk

Index EN-corsair · corsair · English

corsair · rank #35,665 · 10 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,665
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corgi

Nearest frequency peer: corgi (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “corsair”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “corsair” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for corsair
PropertyValue
Headwordcorsair
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɔːɹsɛəɹ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#35,665
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “corsair”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).corsairlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “corgi” (#35,664), “Cortes” (#35,666), “Copley” (#35,663). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “corsair” is #35,665. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around corsair (IPA /kɔːɹsɛəɹ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,665 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for corsair, with forms such as "ccorsair", "corasir", and "corrsair". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French corsaire, from Medieval Latin cursārius (“pirate”), from Latin cursus (“course, a running; plunder, hostile inroad”). Doublet of courser and hussar. The correct English form is corsair, spelled C-O-R-S-A-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A French privateer, especially from the port of Saint-Malo.
  2. 2
    A privateer or pirate in general.
  3. 3
    The ship of privateers or pirates, especially of French nationality.
  4. 4
    A nocturnal assassin bug of the genus Rasahus, found in the southern USA.
  5. 5
    A Californian market fish (Sebastes rosaceus).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how corsair appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "If I had been born a corsair or a pirate, a brigand, genteel highwayman or patriot―and they're the same thing," thought Mr. Tappertit, musing among the nine-pins, "I should have been all right. But to drag out a ^([sic]) ignoble existence unbeknown to mankind in general―patience! I will be famous yet."

Etymology

Borrowed from French corsaire, from Medieval Latin cursārius (“pirate”), from Latin cursus (“course, a running; plunder, hostile inroad”). Doublet of courser and hussar.

This word in other languages

corsario(Español)pirate(Français)Korsar(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccorsair
  • corasir
  • corrsair
  • corsairr
  • corsari
  • corsiar
  • corssair
  • cosrair
  • crosair
  • ocrsair

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of corsair - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccorsair1corasir2corrsair1corsairr1corsari2corsiar2corssair1cosrair2
Edit distance from "corsair"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "corsair"?
"corsair" is spelled C-O-R-S-A-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kɔːɹsɛəɹ/.
What does "corsair" mean?
As a noun, "corsair" means: A French privateer, especially from the port of Saint-Malo.
What are common misspellings of "corsair"?
Common misspellings include "ccorsair", "corasir", "corrsair", "corsairr", "corsari". The correct spelling is "corsair".
How do you pronounce "corsair"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "corsair" is /kɔːɹsɛəɹ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "corsair"?
Borrowed from French corsaire, from Medieval Latin cursārius (“pirate”), from Latin cursus (“course, a running; plunder, hostile inroad”). Doublet of courser and hussar. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "corsair", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chucked#35,657dauphin#35,676carbine#35,646dipshit#35,687

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

dinghy10 variantsdisobey10 variantsdiverge10 variantsBlythe10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list