freebooter
/ˈfɹiːbuːtə(ɹ)/ noun
Forms freebooters
- noun An adventurer who pillages, plunders, or thieves privately or for compensation; or wages ad-hoc war on other nations, similar to mercenary; also a "freeboot".
- noun One who rehosts online media without authorization, a form of intellectual property theft; one who freeboots.
Synonyms
pirate mercenary conquistador filibuster plunderer pillager looter spoiler despoiler raider
Etymology
From free + booty + -er. Calque of Dutch vrijbuiter (literally “free booty-er”), from vrij (“free”) + buit (“booty”) + -er (occupational suffix). Doublet of filibuster.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who plunders or pillages without the authority of national warfare; a member of a predatory band; a pillager; a buccaneer; a sea robber. Bacon.
Etymology [D. vrijbuiter, fr. vrijbuiten to plunder; vrij free + buit booty, akin to E. booty. See Free, and Booty, and cf. Filibuster.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “freebooter”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details