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Ahoy	A sailor's call to pay attention to a command
Articles	This is a contract that pirates signed when they joined a ship's crew. It told what the rules were and how the profit from treasure would be shared.
Avast	This told the pirates to "STOP" what you are doing.
Aztec Empire	This is one of the Indian cultures that the Spanish completely robbed of their wealth.
Ballast	This is heavy material that was stacked at the bottom of ships to keep it upright in the water. Usually large stones were used, but sometimes heavy chests of treasure were used. The ballast was placed down in the very center of the hold of a ship.
Barbary Coast	The Barbary Coast is an area on the northern most coast of Africa that borders the Mediterranean Sea. It was a famous place where the French pirates called Corsairs lived.
Black Jack	This is a leather cup made stiff with a coat of tar. It was used at pubs and taverns to serve wine and beer to the pirates.
Blow	This is a short but strong gale or storm.
Boatswain (Bosun)	This is the Warrant Officer in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, and other gear found on the ship's deck.
Booty	This is the name used for treasure and goods that the pirates stole from other ships and towns..
Boucan	The pirate name buccaneer came from the French word boucan, which refers to a way of cooking meat over an open fire.
Bow	This is the name given for the front part of the ship. It is sometimes called the fore of the ship.
Broadside	This is the term used when a ship fired all of the guns on one side of the ship at the same time.
Buccaneer	This is one type of pirate who sailed in the West Indies. The name comes from boucan (see above).
Bulkhead	This is the divider inside a ship that runs from one side to the other.
Bumboo	This is a favorite drink of the West Indies pirates. It was made with rum, water, sugar, and nutmeg.
Careen	This is to lay a ship over almost on its side so that the barnacles and seaweed could be scraped off of the bottom.
Castles	This is a raised section of a ship either at the forward or aft part of a ship.
Cat O' NineTale	This is a whip of knotted ropes used to punish the ship's crew. The term for this type of punishment was "to be flogged" or "whipped".
Code of Conduct	This is a set of rules that pirates lived by.
Cog	This is a special ship built with very high sides and a raised bow and stern built that way to make it hard for a pirate to board.
Colors	This is a term used to identify the flag flown from a ship. It either shows which nation the ship sails for, or the pirate who is sailing the ship.
Commissions	This is a special license issued by the governments giving permission for a captain to attack foreign ships.
Corsairs	This is the name given to a pirate or privateer who sailed and attacked in the Mediteranean Sea. These corsairs sailed and lived along the Barbary Coast off of North Africa. Their governments gave them permission to attack the ships of Christian countries.
Cutlass	This is a short, curved, thick sword and was the favorite weapon of most buccaneers.
Deck	This is the open area above the hold of a ship. This is where the crew did their work.
Dirk	A long thin knife used when fighting hand to hand and to cut rope.
Doubloon	This is a gold coin minted by the Inca and Aztec indians who were made slaves by the Spanish. They melted down their own gold and stamped it with the mark of the Spanish King and Queen.
Fathom	This is a certain measure of the depth of water. One fathom equaled about 6 feet deep.
Figurehead	This is a carving of a person usually made of wood and hung on the bow of a ship.
Freebooter	This is just another name for a pirate.
Galleon	This is a large Spanish ship that has three masts and square sales. It is a large ship and was usually armed with cannons.
Gibbet	This is the wooden frame that hold the rope used to hang pirates. A metal frame that was made to fit the body of the pirate that was to be hung. The dead pirate hung there until his body was rotted away. It was a warning to others who were thinking of becoming a pirate.
Gold Coast	This coast is part of the islands that make up the Caribbean Sea and is found off of the southern coast of Florida. It is named this for two reasons. First, because so many treasure ships sank in this area. Second, because gold coins and pieces of eight from these wrecks still wash up on the shore today.
Inca Empire	This was one of the Indian cultures that the Spanish completely robbed of their wealth. Thier home was in Central America.
Jolly Roger	A pirate's flag with a black background and a picture of some sort that symbolized death or violence. It was meant to strike fear into the crew of a ship that they were attacking.
Keel	This is the lowest piece of timber that runs along the bottom length of a ship.
Keel hauled	This was one way that a pirate crew punished someone who broke the code of conduct. The person was tied to one end of a rope and dragged underneath the ship from one side to another.
Land Ho	This was shouted by pirates and sailors when land was spotted.
Landlubber	This is a slang word meaning someone who is stupid about the ways of life aboard a ship.
Letter of Marque	This was a legal license given by a countries government giving permission to seize enemy goods and treasure on the open sea. In other words, it meant that you could be a pirate without going to jail. Most letters of marque were given only if the ship's captain agreed to share all treasure that was captured with the country that gave them the license.
Maroon	This was a harsh method of punishment for a pirate who broke the code of conduct over and over again. The pirate would be left on a deserted island with no food, weapons, or water to die.
Mast	This is a post that stands above a ship's deck and holds the sails.
Merchant Men	This is a type of ship.
Mizzenmast	This is the smaller mast located just behind the main mast of a ship.
Prize	This is the term given to a captured ship.
Privateer	This is a pirate who was loyal to the government of a particular country and sailed under Letters of Marque (see above).
Schooner	This is a ship with two or more masts.

* A few editorial changes have been made in these definitions by ThinkQuest.