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letter of marque

noun

  1. license or commission granted by a state to a private citizen to capture and confiscate the merchant ships of another nation.


letter of marque

noun

  1. a licence granted by a state to a private citizen to arm a ship and seize merchant vessels of another nation
  2. a similar licence issued by a nation allowing a private citizen to seize goods or citizens of another nation
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of letter of marque1

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
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Example Sentences

I believed my land-service commission would protect me, but I asked for the letter-of-marque as an additional safeguard.

The scheme was not impossible for any one holding a privateer's commission, and I applied to Mr. Yancey for a letter-of-marque.

In that day, even a French ship-of-the-line was no model of discipline or order, and a letter-of-marque was consequently worse.

The prize proved to be the ship I have mentioned, a letter-of-marque, from Guadaloupe, bound to Nantes.

Well, as if that wern't enough, we ship together again in this vessel, and a time we had of it with the French letter-of-marque.

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letter of introductionletter of the law