Questions . . .

James Crossley · 27 Nov 2007, 05:33 · from 2007-November.txt.gz

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From: ishmael at drizzle.com (James Crossley)
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 21:33:14 -0800
Subject: (urth) Questions . . .
In-Reply-To: <5438.72.171.0.138.1196139746.squirrel at brunians.org>
Message-ID: <C370EC1A.614B%ishmael at drizzle.com>

On 11/26/07 9:02 PM, "brunians at brunians.org" <brunians at brunians.org> wrote:

> 
>> Argosy was, I thought, a reference to the myth of Jason and the
>> Golden Fleece, a fleece said to give one the ability to fly. It would
>> seem to fit with some of the other Greek allusions that Mr. Wolfe is
>> fond of.
> 
> No, the Argo was Jason's ship. An argosy is a voyage generically similar
> to Jason's, would be my first guess.
> 
> 
Not a voyage, but a ship.  The OED says:

Hist. and poet. A merchant-vessel of the largest size and burden; esp. those
of Ragusa and Venice.

As for the etymology, the word surprisingly has naught to do with the Argo:

[App. ad. It. Ragusea, pl. Ragusee, i.e. una (nave or caracca) Ragusea, a
Ragusan (vessel or carack), best repr. by the earliest form ragusye; the
transposition in argosea, arguze, argozee, etc., is no doubt connected with
the fact that Ragusa (in Venetian, Ragusi) itself appears in 16th c. English
as Aragouse, Arragouese, Arragosa. Cf. also the prec. word, in which
Argosine seems to represent It. Ragusino, synonym of Raguseo.]

That argosies were reputed to take their name from Ragusa, is stated by
several writers of 17th c.; and the derivation is made inductively certain
by investigations made for us by Mr. A. J. Evans, showing the extent of
Ragusan trade with England, and the familiarity of Englishmen with the
Ragusee or large and richly-freighted merchant ships of Ragusa, ?Argosies
with portly saile, Like Signiors and rich Burgers on the flood [which]
ouer-peere the pettie Traffiquers That curtsie to them, do them reuerence,
As they flye by them with their wouen wings.? (SHAKES. Merch. V. I. i. 9.)
No reference to the ship Argo is traceable in the early use of the word.]

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