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

See Examples For:

razee razeed

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

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

The next morning, Decatur discovered the British squadron in pursuit, consisting of the Majestic razee, the Endymion, Tenedos, and Pomona frigates and a brig.

From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 2 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

The blockading squadron off the port consisted of the 56-gun razee Majestic, Capt.

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

The sloop being in the stream, we boarded her from the beach abreast, in the little razeed Gloucester dory, which had been painted a smart green.

From The Life of Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson by Sanchez, Nellie Van de Grift

Owing to its pyramidal shape, the reduction of the chimney inordinately widened its razeed summit.

From I and My Chimney by Melville, Herman

She was built upon the razeed hull of the old "Merrimac," of four-and-a-half-inch iron, transverse plates; and carried an armament of seven-inch rifled Brooke guns, made expressly for her.

From Four Years in Rebel Capitals An Inside View of Life in the Southern Confederacy from Birth to Death by DeLeon, T. C.

Frank, there, will wear his old monkey jacket, the skirts of which he razeed last winter for the very purpose.

From Warwick Woodlands Things as they Were There Twenty Years Ago by Herbert, Henry William

The English Royal Sovereign, 3,765 tons and 330 feet length, and the Prince Albert, 2,529 tons and the same length, are razeed wooden vessels.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 63, January, 1863 by Various