corvette
/kɔːɹˈvɛt/ noun
Forms corvettes corvet
- noun (nautical, historical) A flush-decked warship of the 17th-18th centuries having a single tier of guns; it ranked next below a frigate; called in the United States navy a sloop-of-war.
- noun (nautical) In a modern navy, a lightly armed and armoured blue water warship, smaller than a frigate, capable of transoceanic duty.
- noun (science fiction, by extension) A starship of comparable role
- noun A type of sports car, manufactured by Chevrolet from 1953 to present.
Synonyms
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French corvette.
From corvette (“a small, manoeuvrable warship”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A war vessel, ranking next below a frigate, and having usually only one tier of guns; --called in the United States navy a sloop of war.
Etymology [F. corvette, fr. Pg. corveta or Sp. corbeta, fr. L. corbita a slow-sailing ship of burden, fr, corbis basket. Cf. Corbeil.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “corvette”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details