This one’s for Jason and in honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Richard had a Pirate party Saturday night. I was at a loss for a costume so I ended up adapting an old Army PT shirt. My letter sizing and spacing was a bit off so what was going to be “Pirate” became “Piratical.”
Several people loved the word “piratical.” Jason was fine with it, but questioned its authenticity and wondered about it vs. “piratic.” I told him it would sound less odd if we used words like “pirate” and its various forms more often. If we talked about pirates we would have more chance to use piratical.
So besides such wonderful words like piratedom, pirately, piratically, piratism, piratize, and piratously, the OED lists both piratic and piratical. Might I mention that many of these forms start out “= piratical.”
piratic, adj. Of, relating to, or resembling a pirate or pirates; piratical. Piratic War the war waged by Gaius Pompeius Magnus (106-48 B.C. in order to regain control of the Mediterranean for Rome from pirates.
1st use: 1640J. DAY Parl. Bees (1641) sig. C1, He..Out-law-like doth challenge as his owne Your Highnes due, nay Pyratick detaines The waxen fleet sailing upon your plaines.
piratical, adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a pirate or piracy; engaged in or promoting acts of piracy; inhabited by pirates.
1st use: 1550 T. NICOLLS tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. i, The sayde Pyratycall or theuyshe crafte. 1579-80 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1880) 1st Ser. III. 255 Thair piraticall and weikit deidis. 1622 BACON Advt. Holy Warre in Wks. (1879) I. 528/1 The piratical war which was achieved by Pompey the Great.
So, “piratical” has three uses before “piratic,” including one by Bacon. Hmmm. Well, lest I be accused of my own “piraticall and weikit deidis,” I will not link to any photos. But I will ask whether any man in a grass skirt ought to be questioning the adjectival usage of Pirate Bruno the Infected?