razee

American  

[rey-zee] / reɪˈzi /

noun

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

---

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

---

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

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

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

Of course America had no means of raising a blockade, as each squadron contained generally a 74 or a razee, vessels too heavy for any in our navy to cope with.

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

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

Twice a 74 captured or destroyed two frigates, and a razee performed a similar feat.

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