BAR'RATRY, noun The practice of exciting and encouraging lawsuits and quarrels. 2. In commerce, any species of cheating or fraud, in a shipmaster, by which the owners or insurers are injured; as by running away with the ship, sinking or deserting her, by wilful deviation, or by embezzling the cargo.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI