Werd: Pirate - Part Five

Posted by Patrick Snajder Categories: Editorials, History, US Economy

This week’s werd pirate, as told by the other OED:

pirate (n.)
  1254, from O.Fr. pirate, from L. pirata “sailor, sea robber,” from Gk. peirates “brigand, pirate,” lit. “one who attacks,” from peiran “to attack, make a hostile attempt on, try,” from peira “trial, an attempt, attack,” from PIE base *per- “try” (cf. L. peritus “experienced,” periculum “trial, experiment, risk, danger,” see peril). Meaning “one who takes another’s work without permission” first recorded 1701; sense of “unlicensed radio broadcaster” is from 1913. The verb is first recorded 1574.

From its earliest roots, we can see that the word is based on the seafaring attack definition that we know very well and “one who attacks.”  Then, in 1701, that very concrete definition gains an abstraction – it becomes the piracy of copyright, a taking of thought.  You can say that 1701 marks the death of the singular pirate and welcomes a broader definition founded in the world of Gutenberg’s movable type.

We should not find it ironic, then, that Captain William Kidd was executed in 1701 for his act of piracy.

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Werd: Pirate - Part Two

Posted by Patrick Snajder Categories: Editorials, Humor

I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t love pirates, right?

Whether it’s their eye patches or their peg-legs, pirates are a beloved part of human history.  So long as there have been valuable things moved over water and poor people with a taste for the sea, there be pirates trying to steal them some booty.

And why not?  Thievery on land is a naturally risky business.  Most centers of wealth, private or otherwise, are located in densely populated areas.  Banks are a good example.  The feudal castle of yesteryear is another.  Unfortunate for the thief, however, is that most people protect their banks and castles with thick walls and sentries, adding a layer of complication to the simple thief’s plan.  And there are always the difficult problem of witnesses.  Of course, you can go for petty crimes – stealing the purse or breaking the window of a some other lower/middle class citizen: but there is no great pride in that.  The rule of thievery is that if you want to earn a lifetime of respect for your crimes, the crimes must be bold conquests that attain plentiful booty (e.g., Jesse James, Ocean’s 11-13, Vikings). 

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Werd: Pirate - Part One

Posted by Patrick Snajder Categories: Editorials, Humor

For the invocation of the Werd, I have made a pirate joke for your enjoyment:

What’s the difference between an AIG CEO and a college student downloading a CD?

The CEO won’t be criminally prosecuted!

Hi-HO! 

And now, for something completely different:

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