man-of-war
Meanings
noun
- A man whose occupation is fighting in wars; a soldier, a warrior.
- A powerful armed naval vessel, primarily one armed with cannon and propelled by sails; a warship.
- In full man-of-war's-man: a sailor serving on board an armed naval vessel.
- Senses relating to animals.
- Ellipsis of man-of-war bird or (obsolete) man-of-war hawk (“any of a number of seabirds, especially one which attacks other seabirds to take their food”).
- A frigatebird (family Fregatidae), especially the magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens).
- The Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus).
- Ellipsis of Portuguese man-of-war (“Physalia physalis, a jellyfish-like marine cnidarian consisting of a floating colony of hydrozoans attached to a float”).
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Late Middle English man of wer, man of werre (“fighting man, soldier”). It has been suggested that sense 2 (“powerful armed naval vessel”) derives from the fact that such vessels were manned by men-of-war (“soldiers”; sense 1).
Synonyms
Derived words
Translations
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