galleon English · revision 856

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɡæ.li.ən/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɡæ.li.ən/, /ˈɡæl.jən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|galion]] and directly [[bor|es|galeón|t=armed merchant ship]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) an augmentative of ''galea'' “galley”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from Byzantine Greek ''galéa''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[galley]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A kind of large ship, especially a Spanish warship or treasure ship (1529).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The galleon, developed in the 15th and 16th centuries, was shorter, broader and higher at the stern than the [[galley]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In English the word was used especially of Spanish royal treasure ships and the warships that escorted merchant fleets in the American trade.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Figuratively a ''galleon'' was a great prize, alluding to the capture of Spanish galleons by English privateers (1706–07).^(OED 1989) The Italian augmentative ''galeazza'' gave the different ship name [[galleass]] (1540s).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1529 – the ship.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1540s – ''galliass''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1706–07 – a great prize.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large square-rigged sailing ship with three or more masts and two or more decks, used from the 15th to the 17th or early 18th century, especially by Spain, as a warship or merchant ship.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[galleass]]

+ * [[galley]]

+ * [[frigate]]

+ * [[carrack]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}