[ahr-guh-nawt, -not] 
| 1. | Classical Mythology. a member of the band of men who sailed to Colchis with Jason in the ship Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. |
| 2. | (sometimes lowercase ) a person in quest of something dangerous but rewarding; adventurer. |
| 3. | a person who moved to California during the gold rush of 1849. |
| 4. | (lowercase) paper nautilus. |
| ar·go·naut (är'gə-nôt') n. See paper nautilus. [New Latin Argonauta, genus name, from Latin Argonautae, Argonauts; see Argonaut.] |
| Ar·go·naut (är'gə-nôt') n.
[From Latin Argonautae, Argonauts, from Greek Argonautēs, Argonaut : Argō, the ship Argo + nautēs, sailor (from naus, ship; see nāu- in Indo-European roots).] |
In classical mythology, the companions of Jason in the quest for the Golden Fleece. Their ship was the Argo.
Note: Naut means “sailor” in Greek and is the root of our word nautical. Today, the word is used to coin terms such as astronaut and aquanaut.