galleon
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of galleon
1520–30; < Spanish galeón, augmentative of galea galley
Explanation
Though a galleon was a large ship with multiple decks, it was no cruise liner and probably didn’t offer round-the-clock buffets. A galleon refers to a type of sailboat used in the 15th to 18th centuries mostly for battles and carrying consumer goods. Galleons had big square sails rigged onto several masts. They were built and sailed by many Europeans, but they are most commonly associated with the Spanish. In fact, this word is derived from the Spanish word galeón, which means “armed merchant ship.”
Vocabulary lists containing galleon
The Cay
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"The Highwayman"
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A Long Way from Chicago
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sunk in 1708, the galleon San José attained legendary status.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
The South American nation has also declared a protected archaeological area around the San José galleon - which was sunk by the British Royal Navy in 1708 in the Caribbean Sea.
From BBC • May 26, 2024
The life-size statue known as the Black Nazarene and showing Jesus carrying the cross was brought in the 16th century from Mexico on a galleon in 1606 by Spanish missionaries.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 9, 2024
Four hundred and one years earlier, the first “smog report” was entered into the log of the San Salvador, a galleon captained by the Iberian Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2023
Before them, surrounded by ferns and palm trees, white and powdery in the silent morning light, was an enormous Spanish galleon.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
