Dreadnoughts were a type of battleship popular in the first half of the 20th century before the advent of the aircraft carrier made them obsolete. They were gigantic heavily armored ships noted for an "all-big-gun" design that allowed for great firing range while being well-protected. The term "dreadnought" comes from the first major ship of this design, the 1906 HMS Dreadnought. The word means "fear nothing".
Usage
See Special:Whatlinkshere/Etymology:Dreadnought for a list of articles using this term.
This is an etymology page: a page detailing the origins of terminology used in the series in regards to real world culture and history.