Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A large merchant ship.
  • noun A fleet of ships.
  • noun A rich source or supply.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A large merchant vessel, especially one carrying a rich freight.
  • noun A fleet of ships.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A large ship, esp. a merchant vessel of the largest size.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A merchant ship.
  • noun A merchant flotilla, fleet.
  • noun Popular anglicism of the Argonautika of Apollonios Rhodios.
  • noun A collection of lore.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun one or more large merchant ships

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration of obsolete ragusye, from Italian ragusea, vessel of Ragusa (Dubrovnik).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Alteration of Italian ragusea ("a large ship"), after the maritime city of Ragusa, now Dubrovnik.

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Examples

  • Mediterranean and from them is derived the word "argosy," signifying

    The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of 12) The War Begins, Invasion of Belgium, Battle of the Marne Francis Trevelyan Miller 1902

  • Looking at the first sense of "argosy," you might assume that this word is a close relative of "argonaut," but that isn't the case.

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2009

  • A broadening of meaning and another shift in spelling gave us "argosy," denoting any merchant vessel or rich store.

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2009

  • Looking at the first sense of "argosy," you might assume that this word is a close relative of "argonaut," but that isn't the case.

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2009

  • A broadening of meaning and another shift in spelling gave us "argosy," denoting any merchant vessel or rich store.

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day 2009

  • Fastidiously the draught which we did thirst for; A rusted nail, placed near the faithful compass, Will sway it from the truth, and wreck the argosy.

    The Talisman 2008

  • Is that a star? or the lamp that gleams On some outward voyaging argosy, -

    'Everything Is a Mystery' Simic, Charles 2008

  • By degrees, smoke began to issue from the sides of the great Grecian argosy, and the voice of Tancred announced to his soldiers that the

    Count Robert of Paris 2008

  • The well-known captain of an East Indian vessel lately arrived from Britain was sedulously polite to her; and two or three gentlemen, whom Hartley knew to be engaged in trade, tended upon her as they would have done upon the safety of a rich argosy.

    The Surgeon's Daughter 2008

  • Date: April 14, 2007 6: 24 AM produces high how to play slots online periods without casino birth control argosy della Victoria grande shreveport 13 ng phentermine central var r = document. referrer; document. write ( '')

    Horses Mouth February 22, 2007 4:57 PM 2007

Comments

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  • a large merchant ship. Word derives from the port city of Ragusa, on the Adriatic (now Dubrovnik)

    February 26, 2007

  • Usage note on poop. No, really.

    March 16, 2008

  • ...this grand argosy we towed heavily forged along, as if laden with piglead in bulk.

    - Melville, Moby-Dick, ch. 64

    July 26, 2008

  • see argonaut also

    April 11, 2009

  • We are the deathless dreamers of the world.

    Errant and sad, our argosies must go

    On barren quests and all the winds that blow

    Lure us to battle where tall seas are hurled.

    - Walter Adolphe Roberts, 'The Dreamers'.

    September 23, 2009

  • Probably a sign of the word's modern relevance that almost all tweets come from gibberish engines.

    January 27, 2016

  • Note that there's also a lovely Ragusa in Sicily.

    January 27, 2016