GALLEASS

Etymology

Noun

galleass (plural galleasses)

(nautical, historical) A type of rowable vessel of the 16th and 17th centuries, similar to a galley but larger, and normally equipped with sails.

Source: Wiktionary

Gal"le*ass, n. Etym: [F. galéasse, galéace; cf. It. galeazza, Sp. galeaza; LL. galea a galley. See Galley.] (Naut.)

Definition: A large galley, having some features of the galleon, as broadside guns; esp., such a vessel used by the southern nations of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. See Galleon, and Galley. [Written variously galeas, gallias, etc.]

Note: "The galleasses . . . were a third larger than the ordinary galley, and rowed each by three hundred galley slaves. They consisted of an enormous towering structure at the stern, a castellated structure almost equally massive in front, with seats for the rowers amidships." Motley.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition