Editing Frigate (section)

===Origins===
The term "frigate" (Italian: ''fregata''; Dutch: ''fregat''; Spanish/Catalan/Portuguese/Sicilian: ''fragata''; French: ''frégate'') originated in the [[Mediterranean]] in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter [[galley]]-type warship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability.<ref name="Henderson">Henderson, James: ''Frigates Sloops & Brigs''. Pen & Sword Books, London, 2005. {{ISBN|1-84415-301-0}}.</ref>
[[File:Frc3a9gate-c3a0-la-voile1.jpg|thumb|Light frigate, circa 1675–1680]]
The etymology of the word remains uncertain, although it may have originated as a [[corruption (linguistic)|corruption]] of ''[[Wikt:aphractus|aphractus]]'', a [[Latin]] word for an open vessel with no lower deck. ''Aphractus'', in turn, derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] phrase ἄφρακτος ναῦς (''aphraktos naus'') – "undefended ship"{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for etymology.|date=June 2021}}. In 1583, during the [[Eighty Years' War]] of 1568–1648, [[Habsburg Spain]] recovered the [[southern Netherlands]] from the Protestant rebels. This soon resulted in the use of the occupied ports as bases for [[privateers]], the "[[Dunkirker]]s", to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this the Dunkirkers developed small, maneuverable, sailing vessels that came to be referred to as frigates. The success of these Dunkirker vessels influenced the ship design of other navies contending with them, but because most regular navies required ships of greater endurance than the Dunkirker frigates could provide, the term soon came to apply less exclusively to any relatively fast and elegant sail-only warship. In French, the term "frigate" gave rise to a verb – ''frégater'', meaning 'to build long and low', and to an adjective, adding more confusion. Even the huge English {{ship|English ship|Sovereign of the Seas||2}} could be described as "a delicate frigate" by a contemporary after her upper decks were reduced in 1651.{{sfnp|Rodger|2004|p=216}}

The navy of the [[Dutch Republic]] became the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates. The Dutch navy had three principal tasks in the struggle against Spain: to protect Dutch merchant ships at sea, to blockade the ports of Spanish-held [[Flanders]] to damage trade and halt enemy [[privateering]], and to fight the Spanish fleet and prevent troop landings. The first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, and the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade. The third task required heavy armament, sufficient to stand up to the Spanish fleet. The first of the larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at [[Hoorn]] in [[County of Holland|Holland]].<ref>Geoffrey Parker, ''The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West 1500–1800'', p. 99</ref> By the later stages of the [[Eighty Years' War]] (1568–1648) the Dutch had switched entirely from the heavier ships still used by the English and Spanish to the lighter frigates, carrying around 40&nbsp;guns and weighing around 300&nbsp;tons.{{cn|date=May 2025}} In the 17th century, the term ''fregat'' in the [[Dutch Navy]] described any oceangoing warship carrying fewer than 40 guns.<ref name=allan2023>{{cite web | last=Allan | first=Philip K. | title=The Evolution of Frigates in the Age of Sail | website=U.S. Naval Institute | date=1 April 2023 | url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2023/april/evolution-frigates-age-sail | access-date=13 May 2025}}</ref> The effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most evident in the [[Battle of the Downs]] in 1639, encouraging most other navies, especially the English, to adopt similar designs.{{cn|date=May 2025}} 

The fleets built by the [[Commonwealth of England]] in the 1650s generally consisted of ships described as "frigates", the largest of which were [[two-decker]] "great frigates" of the [[Third-rate|third rate]]. Carrying 60&nbsp;guns, these vessels were as big and capable as "great ships" of the time; however, most other frigates at the time were used as "[[cruiser]]s": independent fast ships. The term "frigate" implied a long [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]]-design, which relates directly to speed (see [[hull speed]]) and which also, in turn, helped the development of the [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]] tactic in naval warfare.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
[[File:La Boudeuse.jpg|thumb|{{Ship|French frigate|Boudeuse|1766|2}}, of [[Louis Antoine de Bougainville]]]]

At this time, a further design evolved, reintroducing oars and resulting in galley frigates such as {{HMS|Charles Galley|1676|6}} of 1676, which was rated as a 32-gun [[fifth-rate]] but also had a bank of 40 oars set below the upper deck that could propel the ship in the absence of a favorable wind. In Danish, the word "fregat" often applied to warships carrying as few as 16 guns, such as {{HMS|Falcon|1802|6}}, which the British classified as a sloop. Under the [[rating system of the Royal Navy]], by the middle of the 18th century, the term "frigate" was technically restricted to single-decked ships of the [[Fifth-rate|fifth rate]], though small 28-gun frigates classed as [[Sixth-rate|sixth rate]].<ref name="Henderson"/>