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overnment vessel employed for the purposes of war, esp. one of large size; a ship of war. Man-of-war bird (Zoöl.), The frigate bird; also applied to the skua gulls, and to the wandering albatross. -- Man-of-war hawk (Zoöl.), the frigate bird. -- Man-of-war's man, a sailor serving in a ship of war. -- Portuguese man-…

A man-of-war carrying a large coal supply, and more or less protected from the enemy's shot by iron or steel armor. There is no distinct and accepted classification distinguishing armored and protected cruisers from each other, except that the first have more or heavier armor than the second.

An armor-plated man-of-war built of steel and heavily armed, generally having from ten thousand to fifteen thousand tons displacement, and intended to be fit to meet the heaviest ships in line of battle.

A Turkish man-of-war.

or defense; the state of being so attended; protection; escort. To obtain the convoy of a man-of-war. Macaulay.

A man-of-war having two gun decks.

. Frigate bird (Zoöl.), a web-footed rapacious bird, of the genus Fregata; -- called also man-of-war bird, and frigate pelican. Two species are known; that of the Southern United States and West Indies is F. aquila. They are remarkable for their long wings and powerful flight. Their food consists of fish which they obt…

One of the small boats carried by a man-of-war.

e prey in position, attached to the tentacles. Some of the jellyfishes, as the Portuguese man-of-war, and Cyanea, are able to penetrate the human skin, and inflict painful stings in the same way. Called also nettling cell, cnida, cnidocell.

cer in the navy ranking next above ensign and below lieutenant; formerly, an officer on a man-of-war who had immediate charge, under the commander, of sailing the vessel.

trading vessel; a ship employed in the transportation of goods, as, distinguished from a man-of-war.

A genus of large oceanic Siphonophora which includes the Portuguese man-of-war.

A man-of-war's boat. Whilst our pinnace anchors in the Downs. Shak.

A native or inhabitant of Portugal; people of Portugal. Portuguese man-of-war. (Zoöl.) See Physalia.

The quality or state of being trig; smartness; neatness. Their spars had no man-of-war trigness. Kane.

ntrust. Merchants were not willing to trust precious cargoes to any custody but that of a man-of-war. Macaulay.