What is "frigate"

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were built, and formed the main part of the navies of the world till about 1870, when the introduction of ironclads superseded them.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.

1580s, from Middle French frégate (1520s), from Italian fregata (Neapolitan fregate), which with many names for types of sea vessels is of unknown origin. It is common to the Mediterranean languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan fragata). Originally a small, swift vessel; the word was applied to progressively larger types over the years.\n\n[A] light nimble vessel built for speed; employed in particular for the gleaning of intelligence and the protection and assault of trade-routes. In battle the frigates took station on the disengaged side of the fleet, where they repeated signals, sped on messages, and succoured the distressed.

[Sir Geoffrey Callender, "Sea Passages," 1943]

n. 1 (context nautical English) An obsolete type of sailing warship with a single continuous gun deck, typically used for patrolling, blockading, etc, but not in line of battle. 2 (context nautical English) 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. 3 (context nautical English) A modern type of warship, smaller than a destroyer, originally (WWII) introduced as an anti-submarine vessel but now general purpose.

1. n. 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

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.

In the 17th century, this term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built". These could be warships carrying their principal batteries of carriage-mounted guns on a single deck or on two decks (with further smaller carriage-mounted guns usually carried on the forecastle and quarterdeck of the vessel). The term was generally used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle, although early line-of-battle ships were frequently referred to as frigates when they were built for speed.

In the 18th century, the term referred to ships that were usually as long as a ship of the line and were square-rigged on all three masts ( full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armaments upon a single continuous deck — the upper deck — while ships of the line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns.

In the late 19th century (beginning about 1858 with the construction of prototypes by the British and French navies), the armoured frigate was a type of ironclad warship that for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term "frigate" was used because such ships still mounted their principal armaments on a single continuous upper deck. The later 19th-century battleship thus developed from the frigate rather than from the ship of the line.

In modern navies, frigates are used to protect other warships and merchant-marine ships, especially as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoys. Ship classes dubbed "frigates" have also more closely resembled corvettes, destroyers, cruisers, and even battleships. The rank " frigate captain" derives from the name of this type of ship.

Frigate is the fourteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band April Wine, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music).

The album was re-released in 2007 under its original name. Note that "Tonight Is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love" is a re-work of the single from an earlier album, 1975's Stand Back. Frigate also included two cover songs: Willie Dixon's " I Just Want to Make Love to You", and Steve Winwood's " I'm A Man".

The ship featured on the album cover is HMCS Antigonish (K661).