Britannica 11th · 11th edition
Argosy
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OCR text aligned to scanned pagesVol. 2, pp. 482-4821910–1911
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This entry is linked to Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition. The cited range is Vol. 2, pp. 482-482.
ARGOSY (a corruption, by transposition of letters, of the name of the seaport Ragusa), the term originally for a carrack or merchant ship from Ragusa and other Adriatic ports, now used poetically of any vessel carrying rich merchandise. In English writings of the i6th century the seaport named is variously spelt Ragusa, Aragouse or Aragosa, and ships coming thence were named Ragusyes, Arguzes and Argosies; the last form surviving and passing into literature. The incorrect derivation from Jason's ship, the " Argo," is of modern origin.