Corvette was a term applied to a flush-deck vessel, ship or barque rigged, having only one tier of guns, either on the upper or main deck. The term is no longer used in the royal navy. This class of vessels are now called cruisers. See NAVY.
Corvette
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 3: Catarrh to Dion, p. 500
Source scan(s): p. 0511