I do not think that is why they were called pirates. The term privateer seems to come from 17th century, while "pirate" is a general term for "one who attacks s

I do not think that is why they were called pirates. The term privateer seems to come from 17th century, while "pirate" is a general term for "one who attacks ships" from 14th century. Privateer / corsair is thus a pirate as well, even though not officially called that by their friendly government sanctioning their robbing activities. The terms pirate and corsair do not seem exclusive, corsair is rather a special kind of pirate - one with a government license.