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ship's galley

ship's galley

1 4.4
A kitchen on a ship where food is prepared and cooked
  • noun
  • /ʃɪps ˈɡæli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cocina del barco
  • The crew members often spent their breaks in the ship's galley, enjoying warm meals together.

Examples

  • Standing on the tips of my fins in chest-deep water and leaning against the jagged remains of a bulkhead that used to be part of the ship's galley, I can hear voices in the memorial through the slap of the waves.

    Academic text (1991)
  • A narrow corridor led him to the ship's galley, which was again empty.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The chef prepared a delicious stew in the ship's galley during the storm.

  • Guests gathered in the ship's galley as the crew served hot meals for everyone.

Synonyms

kitchen
vsship's galley
1.0

A room in a house where people prepare and cook food

is aboard a ship and serves as the vessel's food preparation area
galley
vsship's galley
29 5.3

The kitchen on a ship, plane, or train where food is prepared

is used only on ships rather than on many types of vehicle
cookhouse
vsship's galley
  • Archaic
1 6.0

A building where people make and cook food for a group, for example on a ship or in a camp

is inside a ship as part of the vessel rather than separate
caboose
vsship's galley
  • Archaic
1 9.4

A small kitchen on a ship where the cook prepares meals

is the general ship kitchen, not limited to small or historical use
cookshop
vsship's galley
  • Archaic
5.1

A large kitchen in a building where staff cook meals for many people

is a ship kitchen serving a crew rather than an institution

How Equipped

restaurant
1.0
ship's galley
  • Specialized
1 4.4
cookhouse
  • Archaic
1 6.0

Surface Forms

ship's galley singular

Morphology

ship's + galley

The phrase is compositionally built from 'ship's' (possessive of ship, indicating location/ownership) + 'galley' (a compact kitchen aboard a ship), so the meaning 'the kitchen on a ship' is directly derivable from the parts. This possessive + noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English noun composition, making it immediately understandable to learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Ship's galley comes from old ships where cooks worked in a small, safe space called the galley. One popular story says the galley was below deck and pots were tied down so they would not fall when the ship moved, so the phrase now means the ship's 'kitchen'.