razee

American  

[rey-zee] / reɪˈzi /

noun

1. a ship, especially a warship, reduced in height by the removal of the upper deck.

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verb (used with object)

razeed, razeeing

1. to cut down (a wooden ship) by removing the upper deck.

razee British  

/ ˈræziː /

noun

1. a sailing ship that has had its upper deck or decks removed

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verb

1. to remove the upper deck or decks of (a sailing ship)

Etymology

Origin of razee

1785–95; < French ( vaisseau ) rasé razed (ship), past participle of raser to raze

Example Sentences

The Endymion would never have engaged the frigate President, but knowing herself backed by three frigates and a razee, who, though somewhat slower sailors, would get up before she could be taken.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4 by Randolph, Thomas Jefferson

Still, with a stiff breeze, she might have distanced her pursuers, for with the wind light and baffling, the nearest vessel, the Majestic, a razee, was thrown astern.

From The Second War with England, Vol. 2 of 2 by Headley, Joel Tyler

Early on June 1st he started; but in a couple of hours met the British Captain R. D. Oliver's squadron, consisting of a 74, a razee, and a frigate.

From The Naval War of 1812 Or the History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain to Which Is Appended an Account of the Battle of New Orleans by Roosevelt, Theodore

In the evening, the Thanadar's Moonshee came to beg a "razee nama," or "letter of satisfaction," which we gave him, together with a "bukshish," with which he seemed well pleased.

From Diary of a Pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet by Knight, William Henry

A breeze sprang up by noon, and the two nearest vessels of the fleet, a thirty-eight-gun frigate, and a razee of fifty, slipped their moorings and came down before it.

From Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812 by Barnes, James