The story
From pre- + dreadnought.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: A late-19th-century or early-20th-century battleship with a small number of big guns (typically no more than four) and a large number of quick-firing medium-caliber guns. It was made largely obsolete in 1906 by the dreadnought type of battleship. Full definition →
From pre- + dreadnought.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.