FRIGATE n.
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…
GUN n.
A weapon which throws or propels a missile to a distance; any firearm or instrument for throwing projectiles by the explosion of gunpowder, consisting of a tube or barrel closed at one end, in which the projectile is placed, with an explosive charge behind, which is ignited by various means. Muskets, rifles, carbines,…
JET n.
The sprue of a type, which is broken from it when the type is cold. Knight. Jet propeller (Naut.), a device for propelling vessels by means of a forcible jet of water ejected from the vessel, as by a centrifugal pump. -- Jet pump, a device in which a small jet of steam, air, water, or other fluid, in rapid motion, lif…
LOCOMOTIVE n.
A locomotive engine; a self-propelling wheel carriage, especially one which bears a steam boiler and one or more steam engines which communicate motion to the wheels and thus propel the carriage, -- used to convey goods or passengers, or to draw wagons, railroad cars, etc. See Illustration in Appendix. Consolidation lo…
MARINE a.
ficers, privates, and musicants of marines. -- Marine engine (Mech.), a steam engine for propelling a vessel. -- Marine glue. See under Glue. -- Marine insurance, insurance against the perils of the sea, including also risks of fire, piracy, and barratry. -- Marine interest, interest at any rate agreed on for money…
MOTOR CYCLE; MOTORCYCLE n.
A bicycle having a motor attached so as to be self-propelled. In Great Britain the term motor cycle is treated by statute (3 Ed VII. c. 36) as limited to motor cars (self-propelled vehicles) designed to travel on not more than three wheels, and weighing unladen (that is, without water, fuel, or accumulators necessary f…