Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

galley

/ˈɡæli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.22 in modern English

Syllables: gal-ley
IPA: /ˈɡæli/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A long, slender ship propelled primarily by oars, whether having masts and sails or not; usually a rowed warship used in the Mediterranean from the 16th century until the modern era.

noun

A light, open boat used on the Thames by customhouse officers, press gangs, and also for pleasure.

British usage

noun

One of the small boats carried by a man-of-war.

noun

The cookroom or kitchen and cooking apparatus of a vessel or aircraft; sometimes on merchant vessels called the caboose.

noun

An oblong oven or muffle with a battery of retorts; a gallery furnace.

noun

An oblong tray of wood or brass, with upright sides, for holding type which has been set, or is to be made up, etc.

noun

A proof sheet taken from type while on a galley; a galley proof.

noun

A representation of a single-masted ship propelled by oars, with three flags and a basket.

Example Sentences

"It was very nerve-racking. When I was finally able to write the story, I wrote it at the typewriter and never reread it until I had to edit the typos on the printer's galleys for the publication of the book."

Etymology

Etymology tree Byzantine Greek γάλεα (gálea)der. Latin galeader. Old French galeeder. Middle English galeie English galley From Middle English galeie, from Old French galee, from Latin galea, from Byzantine Greek γάλεα (gálea) of unknown origin, probably from Ancient Greek γαλέη (galéē), a kind of a small fish, from γαλεός (galeós, “dog-fish or small shark”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: galeie, galee, galea, γάλεα, γαλέη

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

galleys (plural) gallies (obsolete, plural)

Derived Forms

galleass galleylike galliot

Phrases

everything but the galley stove galley downhaul galley kitchen galley news galley proof galley slave galley slice galley worm

Frequently Paired Words

bireme trireme quadrireme unireme monoreme penteconter quinquereme pentere

Synonyms

lymphad ship's galley caboose cookhouse

Rhymes With

valley rally finale sally alley tally verbally o'malley allie dally bally halley

Questions

How do you pronounce galley?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡæli/.
What does galley mean?: A long, slender ship propelled primarily by oars, whether having masts and sails or not; usually a rowed warship used in the Mediterranean from the 16th century until the modern era.
Where does galley come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce galley

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “galley”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɡæli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “galley”.
Repeat and practice — Say “galley” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.