Definition: one that goes about plundering without the authority of national warfare; a member of a predatory band

Freebooter is the second word on this list which was formed in English as a folk etymology (also sometimes known as a popular etymology). If you were too lazy to click the hyperlink in the earlier instance, this is when a word is transformed to give it an apparent relationship with an existing, better-understood word (such as when we borrowed the Spanish cucaracha and changed it to cockroach). Freebooter comes from the Dutch word vrijbuiter, which is formed from the words for “free” (vrij) and “booty” (buit).