corvette
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
corvette /kɔːˈvɛt/
▶noun a small warship designed for convoy escort duty.
■ historical a sailing warship with one tier of guns.
– origin C17: from Fr., from Du. korf, denoting a kind of ship, + the dimin. suffix -ette.
'corvette' also found in these Oxford entries:

