frigate Hear it!

frigate definition

frig·ate (frig′it)

noun

  1. a fast, medium-sized sailing warship of the 18th and early 19th cent., which carried from 24 to 60 guns
  2. a Brit. warship between a corvette and a destroyer
    1. until 1975, a U.S. warship larger than a destroyer and smaller than a light cruiser
    2. since 1975, a U.S. warship smaller than a destroyer, used chiefly for escort duty

Etymology: Fr frégate < It fregata

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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