Would they be called pirates in the real world?

The pirates of Volturnus would be called slavers. In the Venture adventure in the first 3 issues if the FE they were extorting poor farmers. Could it be that the word pirate has a broader meaning in the Frontier? That it simply applies to and group of thugs with a star ship. This difference of meaning could be from differences of meaning in the native langauges of the core four. And in Pan Gal its simply used for any group of lawless thugs with a star ship or the ability to travel on an interstellar level.