# corsair

> English word · Noun · IPA /kɔːɹsɛəɹ/ · frequency rank #35,665

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

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

## Common misspellings (10)
`ccorsair`, `corasir`, `corrsair`, `corsairr`, `corsari`, `corsiar`, `corssair`, `cosrair`, `crosair`, `ocrsair`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/corsair