Galleass

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Galleass \Gal"le*ass\ (?; 135), n. [F. gal['e]asse, gal['e]ace;
     cf. It. galeazza, Sp. galeaza; LL. galea a galley. See
     {Galley}.] (Naut.)
     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.]
     [1913 Webster]
  
     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. Gallegan