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second-rate

 
(sĕk'ənd-rāt')
adj.
Of inferior or mediocre quality or value.

second-rateness sec'ond-rate'ness n.
second-rater sec'ond-rat'er n.

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Second-rate

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British second rate 1665

In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied that they were of inferior quality. They were essentially smaller and hence cheaper versions of the three-decker first rates. Like the first rates, they fought in the line of battle, but unlike the first rates, which were considered too valuable to risk in distant stations, the second rates often served also in major overseas stations as flagships. They had a reputation for poor handling and slow sailing.

Rating

Typically displacing around 2000 tons and carrying a crew of 750, the second rates by the second half of the 18th century carried 32-pounder guns on the gundeck, with 18-pounders instead of 24-pounders on the middle deck, and 12-pounders on the upper deck (rather than 18- or 24-pounders on first rates), although there were exceptions to this. Both first and second rates carried lighter guns (and, after 1780, carronades) on their forecastles and quarterdecks.

The three-decker second rate was mainly a British type, and was not built by other European navies to any great degree. Apart from its unhandiness, in terms of sheer firepower it was matched or even over matched by many of the large 80 and 74-gun two-deckers used by the French and Spanish navies instead. The additional deck did, however, give the second rate an advantage in close combat, and it had the further tactical advantage of sometimes being mistaken by the enemy for a first rate, which could possibly make enemy commanders reluctant to press an attack.

Term

The term "second-rate" has since passed into general usage as an adjective used to mean of suboptimal quality, inferior to something that is "first-rate".

Bibliography


Translations:

Second-rate

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - andenklasses-, middelmådig, andenrangs-

Nederlands (Dutch)
tweederangs

Français (French)
adj. - de second ordre, de qualité inférieure

Deutsch (German)
adj. - zweitklassig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - δεύτερης διαλογής

Italiano (Italian)
di seconda qualità

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - de segunda classe

Русский (Russian)
второсортный, второразрядный, посредственный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - de segunda categoría

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - andra klassens, sekunda, andrarangs-, medelmåttig

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
次等的, 二流的

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 次等的, 二流的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 2류의, 보통의, ~만 못한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 二流の, 劣った, 平凡な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) رديء‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮בינוני, נחות‬


 
 

 

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Second-rate Read more
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