I'd always assumed 'argosy' came from Jason's Argonaut. The definition also seems to fit, describing a large ship carrying a wealthy cargo. As the word wasn't used before 1577 it's obvious I was wrong, but it's a curious fact that the two words seem so similar in construction and definition but have entirely different origins.
Thanks for enlivening my days with just this sort of fascinating factlet.

I made the same assumption right when I saw the word, I was really surprised to see it was not from the Argo but from Ragusea.

I read the Greek myths as a child and in literature my whole life. I clearly recall Jason (of the Golden Fleece) sailing a ship called Argosy and his crew were called Argonauts.

This story was made up or changed in 1577? How curious.

Caught your fancy, eh.?Welcome Maraith and Myra.

AHD4 doesn't say but it could be that argosy was altered from the original ragusye under the influence of
Argo.

I read the Greek myths as a child and in literature my whole life. Wow. [impressed as all get out emoticon]
Welcome to you and to Myra; and to cleve over in the other thread. Nice to see you again, Annie!

I notice this has got a couple of other people besides me making their first post. I'm unwilling to accept at face value that 'argosy' (a large ship, a fleet of ships) is unrelated to Jason's large ship the Argo and his argonauts, particularly if the word first appeared in 1577, when the classics were still being rediscovered and translated (Chapman's Homer apparently dates from 1614). It's just too much of a coincidence and the Ragusa angle seems implausible by comparison, though as suggested above, there might be some combination of sources going on. I wonder how these things are verified?

I clearly recall Jason (of the Golden Fleece) sailing a ship called Argosy and his crew were called Argonauts.

Close, but Jason's ship was called the Argo (Αργω, Argō). It was named after its builder, Argus (Αργος, Argos).

The city of Ragusa is today called Dubrovnik.