The Nautical Encyclopedia

Patterson’s Illustrated Nautical Encyclopedia — Howard Patterson, 1891

⚓ The Superstition Locker ⚓

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Home ⚓ Letter F ⚓ First Rate

First Rate

Naval

A qualification for the highest grade ships in the navy.

← First Point of Libra All “F” entries Fish →

2026 Editor's Note: 'First-rate' escaped to shore from exactly this system — the Royal Navy's rating of ships by gun count. Nobody calls anything third-rate as a compliment, which was also true of the ships. (Ed: BR 2026-06-18)

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The Nautical Encyclopedia (1891) is in the public domain; this digital edition © 2026 PhotoOpAI.