piracy
/ˈpaɪɹəsi/noun
piracy is spelled P-I-R-A-C-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, piracy means “Robbery at sea, a violation of international law; taking a ship away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of piracy is piracies.
How many letters and syllables are in piracy?
| Letters | 6: P-I-R-A-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.3 times per million words; the 14,509th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is piracy?
Piracy appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce piracy?
- /ˈpaɪɹəsi/
Piracy has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-piracy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of piracy
- piracies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does piracy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Robbery at sea, a violation of international law; taking a ship away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it.
How should the international community respond to Somali piracy?
- 2
A similar violation of international law, such as hijacking of an aircraft.
- 3
The unauthorized duplication of goods protected by intellectual property law.
Some video game consoles use specially designed cartridges to make software piracy more difficult.
- 4
The operation of an unlicensed radio or television station.
- 5
Kleptoparasitism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Piracy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | piraterie, piratage |
| German | Piraterie, Seeräuberei , Raubkopieren, Raubkopie, Raubdruck |
| Portuguese | pirataria |
| Spanish | piratería , falsificación , secuestro |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does piracy come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).