駆逐艦(くちくかん)

Composed of 駆逐(くちく) (to drive away, to expel) + 艦(かん) (warship, naval vessel). The literal sense 'driving-away warship' reflects the class's original late-19th-century role: small, fast ships built to chase off and destroy torpedo boats threatening larger capital ships. The name survives today even though the modern vessels bear little resemblance to the originals.

Common collocations

• 駆逐艦(くちくかん)を建造(けんぞう)する: to build a destroyer
• 駆逐艦(くちくかん)が出港(しゅっこう)する: (for) a destroyer to leave port
• イージス駆逐艦(くちくかん): Aegis destroyer
• 駆逐艦(くちくかん)部隊(ぶたい): destroyer unit / flotilla
• 駆逐艦(くちくかん)乗(の)り: destroyer crewmember

Similar words

• 護衛艦(ごえいかん): escort ship — the formal designation used by Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force for what are internationally called destroyers. Because Japan's postwar constitution restricts offensive naming, this milder term is preferred in official Japanese usage.
• 巡洋艦(じゅんようかん): cruiser — a larger warship class, traditionally with more firepower and range than a destroyer.
• 戦艦(せんかん): battleship — the largest and most heavily armored class of surface warship (no longer in active service in most navies).
• フリゲート: frigate — a class generally smaller or lighter than a destroyer, often with a more specialized role such as anti-submarine warfare.
• 潜水艦(せんすいかん): submarine — unrelated, but often mentioned together when discussing naval fleet composition.

Register

Neutral written/spoken term found in news reports, history books, and discussions of the military. The related verb 駆逐(くちく)する ('to drive out, to eliminate') is also used figuratively, e.g. 外来種(がいらいしゅ)を駆逐(くちく)する ('to wipe out an invasive species').