Armada

[ahr-mah-duh, -mey-]

noun

1. Also called Invincible Armada. Also called Spanish Armada. the fleet sent against England by Philip II of Spain in 1588. It was defeated by the English navy and later dispersed and wrecked by storms.

2. (lowercase),  any fleet of warships.

3. (lowercase),  a large group or force of vehicles, airplanes, etc..

   an armada of transport trucks.

Armada

¹

/ ɑːˈmɑːdə /

noun

1. See Spanish Armada

armada

²

/ ɑːˈmɑːdə /

noun

1. a large number of ships or aircraft

Word History and Origins

Origin of Armada¹

1525–35; < Spanish < Latin armāta armed forces, neuter plural of armātus (past participle of armāre to equip with arms). See arm ², -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Armada¹

C16: from Spanish, from Medieval Latin armāta fleet, armed forces, from Latin armāre to provide with arms

Example Sentences

“And what of Queen Elizabeth’s rousing speech to the English troops as they prepared to do battle with the Spanish Armada in the year 1588? Mrs. Apple made glowing mention of it in her brief but thorough talk on English history. Surely, I ought to have a peek at that as well.”

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“Elizabeth, Armada...Elizabeth, Armada...Eureka! Here it is.”

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“There must be little here to interest you, then,” she said, and pretended to go back to reading about the Spanish Armada.

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The speech she gave for the baroness was like something out of one of those modern frozen-yogurt machines they have nowadays: sprinkles of Cicero were ladled over chunks of Demosthenes, and Queen Elizabeth’s speech before the battle with the Spanish Armada swirled together with spoonfuls of Julius Caesar.

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The French armada was not simply a huge naval force.

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Related Words

• fleet 
• flotilla 
• squadron