Armada

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɑːˈmɑːdə/

Definitions

1. A formidable collection of naval vessels arranged for military engagement or defense purposes
2. A sizable assembly of ships designated for warfare or protective operations at sea
3. A vast grouping of military ships organized to operate together in naval battles

Etymology: The word's most famous association is with a single disaster. In 1588, Philip II of Spain sent a great fleet to carry an invasion force to England, and English writers and later historians made "the Armada" the name for that fleet. Yet the word was already in ordinary Spanish use for any naval force, and English borrowed it from Spanish in that broader sense. Spanish "armada" traces back to Medieval Latin "armāta", the feminine past participle of Latin "armāre", "to arm", itself from "arma", "weapons". The idea is simply a force that has been equipped for war. The same root gives English "army", which came into the language through Old French. The two words are doublets: one arrived by the French route, the other by the Spanish one, and they have diverged in meaning, with "army" meaning a land force and "armada" a fleet.

Synonyms: fleet, navy, flotilla, squadron, task force