English

Noun

razee ‎(plural razees)

1. (nautical) An armed ship with its upper deck cut away, and thus reduced to the next inferior rate, such as a seventy-four cut down to a frigate.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Totten to this entry?)

Verb

razee ‎(third-person singular simple present razees, present participle razeeing, simple past and past participle razeed)

1. (nautical) To cut (a ship) down to a smaller number of decks, and thus to an inferior rate or class.
2. (figuratively) To trim or abridge by cutting off parts.

   to razee a book, or an article

   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 36

     "Aye, aye! it was that accursed white whale that razeed me; made a poor pegging lubber of me for ever and a day!"