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Webster 1913 Edition
Frigate
Frig′ate
,Noun.
[F.
frégate
, It. fregata
, prob. contracted fr. L. fabricata
something constructed or built. See Fabricate
.] 1.
Originally, a vessel of the Mediterranean propelled by sails and by oars. The French, about 1650, transferred the name to larger vessels, and by 1750 it had been appropriated for a class of war vessels intermediate between corvettes and ships of the line. Frigates, from about 1750 to 1850, had one full battery deck and, often, a spar deck with a lighter battery. They carried sometimes as many as fifty guns. After the application of steam to navigation steam frigates of largely increased size and power were built, and formed the main part of the navies of the world till about 1870, when the introduction of ironclads superseded them.
[Formerly spelled
frigat
and friggot
.] 2.
Any small vessel on the water.
[Obs.]
Spenser.
Frigate bird
(Zool.)
, a web-footed rapacious bird, of the genus
– Fregata
; – called also man-of-war bird
, and frigate pelican
. Two species are known; that of the Southern United States and West Indies is F. aquila
. They are remarkable for their long wings and powerful flight. Their food consists of fish which they obtain by robbing gulls, terns, and other birds, of their prey. They are related to the pelicans. Frigate mackerel
(Zool.)
, an oceanic fish (
– Auxis Rochei
) of little or no value as food, often very abundant off the coast of the United States. Frigate pelican
. (Zool.)
Same as
Frigate bird
.Webster 1828 Edition
Frigate
FRIG'ATE
,Noun.
1.
A ship of war, of a size larger than a sloop or brig, and less than a ship of the line; usually having two decks and carrying from thirty to forty four guns. But ships mounting a less number than thirty guns are sometimes called frigates; as are ships carrying a larger number.2.
Any small vessel on the water. [Not used.]Definition 2024
frigate
frigate
English
Frigate Apurímac (Peru, 1855)
Noun
frigate (plural frigates)
- (nautical) An obsolete type of sailing warship with a single continuous gun deck, typically used for patrolling, blockading, etc, but not in line of battle.
- (nautical) A 19th c. type of warship combining sail and steam propulsion, typically of ironclad timber construction, supplementing and superseding sailing ships of the battle line until made obsolete by the development of the solely steam-propelled iron battleship.
- (nautical) A modern type of warship, smaller than a destroyer, originally (WWII) introduced as an anti-submarine vessel but now general purpose.
Translations
An obsolete type of sailing warship
A 19th c. type of warship
A modern type of warship