/kawr"sair/ , n.
1. a fast ship used for piracy.
2. a pirate, esp. formerly of the Barbary Coast.
3. ( cap. ) Mil. a gull-winged, propeller-driven fighter plane built for the U.S. Navy in World War II and kept in service into the early 1950s.
[ 1540-50; corsaire
corsar ( i ) corsaro cursarius, equiv. to L curs ( us ) COURSE + -arius -ARY ]