Etymology

Noun

1. A French privateer, especially from the port of St-Malo
2. A privateer or pirate in general

   1840 "If I had been born a corsair or a pirate, a brigand, genteel highwayman or patriot -- and they're the same thing," thought Mr. Tappertit, musing among the nine-pins, "I should have been all right. But to drag out a ignoble existence unbeknown to mankind in general -- patience! I will be famous yet. — Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge, http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=/texts/english/modeng/publicsearch/modengpub.o2w&act=surround&offset=254475515&tag=Dickens,+Charles,+1812-1870:+Barnaby+Rudge,+1840&query=corsair&id=DicBarn Chapter 34.

3. The ship of privateers or pirates, especially of French nationality
4. Turkish Corsair: A barbary pirate, or barbary pirate ship (from Algeria, which was nominally in the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire).
5. A nocturnal assassin bug of the genus Rasahus, found in the southern USA.
6. F4U Corsair: A World War II fighter aircraft.