---
title: corsair — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «corsair» in the school dictionary: A corsair was a pirate, especially one from North Africa (the Barbary corsairs) who attacked ships in the Mediterranean. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# corsair

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**Who acts:** corsair, Barbary corsairs, corsairs, Mediterranean, captain, corsair ship · **What happens:** be, attack, raid, raise, escape, sail · **To what, where:** pirate, ships, Mediterranean, pirate ship, merchant ship, Baltimore

<!-- .vabout -->
«corsair» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [corsair in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/corsair.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: old — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A corsair was a pirate, especially one from North Africa (the Barbary corsairs) who attacked ships in the Mediterranean.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:m1:1
# text = A corsair was a pirate, especially one from North Africa (the Barbary corsairs) who attacked ships in the Mediterranean.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	corsair	corsair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	pirate	pirate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	appos	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	North	North	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	Africa	Africa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	Barbary	Barbary	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	corsairs	corsair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	15	punct	_	_
17	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	attacked	attack	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	acl:relcl	_	_
19	ships	ship	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obj	_	_
20	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	Mediterranean	Mediterranean	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | a corsair | a pirate |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **attack** | past | the Barbary corsairs | ships |  | the Mediterranean |  |  | vn attack-60.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ship=Patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A corsair was also a pirate ship.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:m2:1
# text = A corsair was also a pirate ship.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	corsair	corsair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	pirate	pirate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | a corsair | a pirate ship |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The corsairs attacked the merchant ship.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:x1:1
# text = The corsairs attacked the merchant ship.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	corsairs	corsair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	attacked	attack	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **attack** | past | the corsairs | the merchant ship |  |  |  |  | vn attack-60.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ship=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Barbary corsairs raided Baltimore in Ireland in 1631.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:x2:1
# text = Barbary corsairs raided Baltimore in Ireland in 1631.
1	Barbary	barbary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	corsairs	corsair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	raided	raid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	Baltimore	Baltimore	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Ireland	Ireland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	1631	1631	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **raid** | past | Barbary corsairs | Baltimore |  | Ireland |  | in 1631 | vn investigate-35.4 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent baltimore=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The corsair raised a black flag.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:x3:1
# text = The corsair raised a black flag.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	corsair	corsair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	raised	raise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	flag	flag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **raise** | past | the corsair | a black flag |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent flag=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Mediterranean was once full of corsairs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:x4:1
# text = The Mediterranean was once full of corsairs.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Mediterranean	Mediterranean	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	5	advmod	_	_
5	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	corsairs	corsair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the Mediterranean |  |  |  |  | of corsairs; full, once *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The captain escaped from the corsairs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:x5:1
# text = The captain escaped from the corsairs.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	captain	captain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	escaped	escape	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	corsairs	corsair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **escape** | past | the captain |  |  | the corsairs |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from corsair=Initial\_Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A corsair ship sailed into the harbour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:corsair:x6:1
# text = A corsair ship sailed into the harbour.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	corsair	corsair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sailed	sail	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	harbour	harbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sail** | past | a corsair ship |  |  | the harbour |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent into harbour=Trajectory |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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