Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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      ironclads superseded them.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}.