razee means an armed ship with its upper deck cut away, and thus reduced to the next inferior rate, such as a seventy-four cut down to a frigate. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why “razee” is a great word
RAZEE — [Noun, Verb] A warship that has had its upper deck removed to reduce it to a lower rate; or, to cut down a ship or anything else in this drastic manner. From French (vaisseau) rasé, meaning 'razed (ship)', from raser ('to raze, to shave off'). First attested in English in the late 18th century. Unlike a refit, which implies repair and modernization, or an abridgment, which merely shortens a text, to razee is a violent, physical simplification for blunt utility. It is the scent of fresh sawdust over old salt timber, the sudden exposure of a gun deck to the open sky, and the brutal conversion of a once-proud three-decker into a swift, heavy frigate—a lesson in how survival often demands the sacrifice of one's former stature.
Etymology
From French vaisseau rasé, from raser (“to rase, to cut down ships”). See raze and rase (verbs).
noun
- An armed ship with its upper deck cut away, and thus reduced to the next inferior rate, such as a seventy-four cut down to a frigate.“an old line-of-battle ship, (21 years of age,) cut down to a razee”
verb
- To cut (a ship) down to a smaller number of decks, and thus to an inferior rate or class.
- To trim or abridge by cutting off parts.“to razee a book, or an article”