galley slave

noun

"galley-slave" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“galley slave” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A slave who rows in a galley (type of ship).

Key facts for galley slave
PropertyValue
Headwordgalley slave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “galley slave” sits in English frequency

galley slave falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

galley slave is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

galley slave doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is galley slave, spelled G-A-L-L-E-Y- -S-L-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A slave who rows in a galley (type of ship).
  2. 2
    A typesetter (person who arranged type in a galley for printing).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "galley slave"?
"galley slave" is spelled G-A-L-L-E-Y- -S-L-A-V-E.
What does "galley slave" mean?
As a noun, "galley slave" means: A slave who rows in a galley (type of ship).
What language does "galley slave" come from?
"galley slave" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “galley slave”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-A-L-L-E-Y- -S-L-A-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list