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Glite Dictionary
letters of marque

letters of marque

1 9.9
Official permission given by a government for private ship owners to capture enemy ships and goods
  • noun
  • /ˈlɛtərz əv mɑrk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : patente de corso
  • These letters of marque are signed by the king.

Examples

  • The government issued letters of marque to certain captains as a way to bolster its naval forces.

  • Letters of marque.

    Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

  • During the war, privateers were given letters of marque to legally seize enemy ships.

  • Historically, many sailors operated under letters of marque, allowing them to capture prizes at sea.

Synonyms

letter of marque
vsletters of marque
  • Archaic
9.9

Official government permission for a private ship to capture enemy ships and cargo

refers to the same license but used as a plural or multiple permissions
letter of mark and reprisal
vsletters of marque
  • Archaic
9.9

A government paper that lets a private ship owner capture enemy ships and goods during war

is limited to capturing enemy vessels and goods under official permission

Surface Forms

letter of marque singular
letters of marque plural

Morphology

letters + of + marque

Although 'letters' can mean official documents, the component 'marque' is a rare/archaic term in English and the specific legal/nautical sense (a government license to seize enemy ships) is a historical, technical meaning that is not predictable from the parts. The phrase is a conventional legal idiom ('letter(s) of marque and reprisal') and would not be derivable by a B1 learner who simply knows the literal constituent words.

Etymology

Letters of marque comes from old sea wars when a government gave written letters to private ship owners saying they could 'capture enemy ships' and keep the goods. So these papers gave 'official permission', and that is why letters of marque means a government permit to take enemy ships.