corvette

(kôr vet)

noun

  1. a former sailing warship larger than a sloop and smaller than a frigate, usually with one tier of guns
  2. a fast warship smaller than a destroyer and used chiefly for convoy duty

Origin: Fr, prob. < MDu korver, pursuit ship < MLG korf, kind of boat, basket < L corbis, basket: see corbeil

See corvette in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. A fast, lightly armed warship, smaller than a destroyer, often armed for antisubmarine operations.
  2. An obsolete sailing warship, smaller than a frigate, usually armed with one tier of guns.

Origin:

Origin: French, a kind of warship

Origin: , probably from Middle Dutch corf, basket, small ship; see corf

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