See Also:

man-of-war (iou)



man-of-war noun. . LME.
[In sense 1 app. after French homme de guerre; in sense 2 cf. MAN noun 15.]
A fighting man; a soldier, a warrior. Now arch. or joc. LME.
A vessel equipped for warfare; a warship belonging to the recognized navy of a country. Now chiefly Hist. L15.
A sailor serving on a man-of-war. More usu. man-of-war's-man. Now chiefly Hist. L16.
More fully man-of-war bird. A large sea bird; spec. a frigate-bird. M17.
In full Portuguese man-of-war. A large pelagic siphonophore of the genus Physalia, with a float like a sail and numerous stinging tentacles. E18.
Hist. Used attrib. to designate a boy's garment resembling that worn by a sailor. L19.
Comb.: man-of-war fish any of various tropical marine fishes of the family Nomeidae, esp. Nomeus gronovii, which is often found among the tentacles of Portuguese men-of-war.