Argosy
Encyclopedia
An argosy is a merchant ship, or a fleet of such ships. As used by Shakespeare (e.g., in King Henry VI
, Part 3, Act 2, Scene VI; in the Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene III; and in The Taming of the Shrew
, Act 2, Scene I), the word means a flotilla of merchant ships operating together under the same ownership.
It is derived from the 16th century city Ragusa (now Dubrovnik
, in Croatia
), a major shipping power of the day and entered the language through the Italian
ragusea, meaning a Ragusan ship. The word bears no relation to the ship Argo
from Greek mythology (Jason and the Argonauts).
Since "argosy" and "odyssey" sound alike and both refer to ships or voyage by ship ("odyssey" refers to Odysseus
' journey, not to his ship, which goes unnamed in Homer's Odyssey), occasionally "argosy" is misused as a synonym for "odyssey", namely as an adventure.
Henry VI, part 3
Henry VI, Part 3 or The Third Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
, Part 3, Act 2, Scene VI; in the Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene III; and in The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
, Act 2, Scene I), the word means a flotilla of merchant ships operating together under the same ownership.
It is derived from the 16th century city Ragusa (now Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
), a major shipping power of the day and entered the language through the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
ragusea, meaning a Ragusan ship. The word bears no relation to the ship Argo
Argo
In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
from Greek mythology (Jason and the Argonauts).
Since "argosy" and "odyssey" sound alike and both refer to ships or voyage by ship ("odyssey" refers to Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
' journey, not to his ship, which goes unnamed in Homer's Odyssey), occasionally "argosy" is misused as a synonym for "odyssey", namely as an adventure.