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Portuguese man-of-war
noun
- any of several large, oceanic hydrozoans of the genus Physalia, having a large, bladderlike structure with a saillike crest by which they are buoyed up and from which dangle tentacles with stinging cells.
Portuguese man-of-war
noun
- any of several large complex colonial hydrozoans of the genus Physalia, esp P. physalis, having an aerial float and long stinging tentacles: order Siphonophora Sometimes shortened toman-of-war
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Word History and Origins
Origin of Portuguese man-of-war1
First recorded in 1700–10
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