portuguese man-of-war

Noun

Synonyms: Portuguese man-of-war man-of-war jellyfish

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

large siphonophore having a bladderlike float and stinging tentaclesSynonyms: Portuguese man-of-war man-of-war jellyfish

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Portuguese \Por"tu*guese\, a. [Cf. F. portugais, Sp. portugues, Pg. portuguez.] Of or pertaining to Portugal, or its inhabitants. -- n. sing. & pl. A native or inhabitant of Portugal; people of Portugal. [1913 Webster]

Portuguese man-of-war. (Zool.) See Physalia. [1913 Webster]

Man-of-war \Man`-of-war"\, n; pl. Men-of-war.

1.A government vessel employed for the purposes of war, esp. one of large size; a ship of war. [WordNet sense 1]

Syn: ship of the line. [1913 Webster]

2.The Portuguese man-of-war.

Syn: Syn. --, jellyfish. [WordNet 1.5]

Man-of-war hawk (Zool.), the frigate bird.

Man-of-war's man, a sailor serving in a ship of war.

Portuguese man-of-war (Zool.), any species of the genus Physalia; it is a hydrozoan having both medusa and polyp stages present in a single colony. It floats on the surface of the sea by a buoyant bladderlike structure, from which dangle multiple long tentacles with stinging cells. Its can cause severe rashes when it comes in contact with humans swimming in the area. See Physalia. [1913 Webster]