Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
frigate
5 dictionary results for: Frigate
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
frig·ate       [frig-it] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a fast naval vessel of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, generally having a lofty ship rig and heavily armed on one or two decks.
2.any of various types of modern naval vessels ranging in size from a destroyer escort to a cruiser, frequently armed with guided missiles and used for aircraft carrier escort duty, shore bombardment, and miscellaneous combat functions.
[Origin: 1575–85; < MF frégate < It fregata, Sicilian fragata (> Sp, Catalan, Pg); of obscure orig.]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
frig·ate       (frĭg'ĭt)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A warship, usually of 4,000 to 9,000 displacement tons, that is larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser, used primarily for escort duty.
  2. A high-speed, medium-sized sailing war vessel of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
  3. Archaic A fast, light vessel, such as a sailboat.


[French frégate, from Italian fregata.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
frigate 
1585, from M.Fr. frégate, from It. fregata, like many ship names, of unknown origin. Originally a small, swift vessel, the word was applied to progressively larger types over the years, but since 1943 used mainly of escort ships.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
frigate

noun
1. a medium size square-rigged warship of the 18th and 19th centuries 
2. a United States warship larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Frigate

Frig"ate\, n. [F. fr['e]gate, 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 (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Zo["o]l.), an oceanic fish (Auxis Rochei) of little or no value as food, often very abundant off the coast of the United States.

Frigate pelican. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Frigate bird.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Share This:Share This: digg.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: del.icio.usShare This: FacebookShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: furl.netShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.google.com