name of the ship in which Jason and his 54 heroic companions sought the Fleece in Colchis on the Euxine Sea, in Greek, literally "The Swift," from argos "swift" (adj.), an epithet, literally "shining, bright" (from PIE root *arg- "to shine; white"), "because all swift motion causes a kind of glancing or flickering light" [Liddell & Scott]. Related: Argean.
Entries linking to argo
*arg-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to shine; white," hence "silver" as the shining or white metal.
It forms all or part of: argent; Argentina; argentine; Argo; argue; Argus; hydrargyrum; litharge.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit rajata-, Avestan erezata-, Old Persian ardata-, Armenian arcat, Greek arguron, Latin argentum, Old Irish argat, Breton arc'hant "silver;" Sanskrit arjuna- "white, shining;" Hittite harki- "white;" Greek argos "white."
Argonaut n.
"sailor of the Argo," 1580s (Argonautic (n.)), from Argo + Greek nautēs "sailor" (from PIE root *nau- "boat"). Adventurers in the California Gold Rush of 1848 were called argonauts (because they sought the golden fleece) by those who stayed home.