galleon

What it means

1. A large, three-masted, square rigged sailing ship with at least two decks.

   1 more example

   The next day he returned to camp with the balance of his ingots, and when they were stored on board the cruiser Captain Dufranne said he felt like the commander of an old-time Spanish galleon returning from the treasure cities of the Aztecs. “I don’t know what minute my crew will cut my throat, and take over the ship,” he added.

   1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 220

In a sentence

The next day he returned to camp with the balance of his ingots, and when they were stored on board the cruiser Captain Dufranne said he felt like the commander of an old-time Spanish galleon returning from the treasure cities of the Aztecs. “I don’t know what minute my crew will cut my throat, and take over the ship,” he added.

1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 220

Where it comes from

1. Middle Frenchgalion
2. Englishgalleon

From Middle French galion or Spanish galeón. Originally an augmentative form of a Romance language cognate of galley, the word spread around the Mediterranean from the 12th century, taking on different meanings depending on place and time.