Dictionary

Portuguese man-of-war en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈmæn-/ (General-American)
• /ˈpoɹ-/ (General-American)
• /ˈpɔː.tʃʊˌɡiːz ˌmæn.ə(v)ˈwɔː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈpoɹ.tʃəˌɡiz ˌmæn.ə(v)ˈwoɹ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Portuguese (adjective) + man-of-war, from the resemblance of the organism’s float to a former Portuguese warship at full sail.

Meanings

1. Physalia physalis, a marine cnidarian consisting of a floating colony of hydrozoans attached to a float, superficially resembling a jellyfish.
   • However, two beaches in Tarragona in southern Catalonia were closed in July after Portuguese man o’war (Physalia physalis) were spotted in the water. 2024 August 24, Stephen Burgen, “Resorts on Spain’s Costa Brava struggle with invasion of jellyfish as seas warm”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • Once the great streamers of a Portuguese man-of-war floated slowly by. They almost reached his head from the surface, fifteen feet away, and he remembered the whiplash of a sting from the contact of one of their tendrils that had burned for three of his days at Manatee Bay. If they caught a man across the heart they could kill him. 1954, Ian Fleming, “Beau Desert”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 203:
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see Portuguese, man-of-war.

Forms

Relateds

siphonophore

Synonyms

bluebottle · man-of-war

Translations (42)

ru португа́льский вое́нный кора́блик (Physalia physalis) · ko 고깔해파리 (Physalia physalis) · ms ubur-ubur api (Physalia physalis) · ru португа́льский кора́блик (Physalia physalis) · fi portugalinsotalaiva (Physalia physalis) · mi ihumoana (Physalia physalis) · ast aguamala (Physalia physalis) · pt caravela-portuguesa (Physalia physalis) · nb portugisisk krigsskip (Physalia physalis) · eo fizalio (Physalia physalis) · ja 鰹の烏帽子 (Physalia physalis) · nl Portugees oorlogsschip (Physalia physalis) · ast veleru (Physalia physalis) · da Portugisisk orlogsmand (Physalia physalis) · bcl salabay (Physalia physalis) · ceb salabay (Physalia physalis) · ast balandra (Physalia physalis) · ro galeră portugheză (Physalia physalis) · ga smugairle an tseoil (Physalia physalis) · pl aretuza (Physalia physalis) · id ubur-ubur api (Physalia physalis) · ca caravel·la portuguesa (Physalia physalis) · mi katiaho (Physalia physalis) · ko 작은부레관해파리 (Physalia physalis) · es carabela portuguesa (Physalia physalis) · sv portugisisk örlogsman (Physalia physalis) · hu portugál gálya (Physalia physalis) · fr physalie (Physalia physalis) · sv blåsmanet (Physalia physalis) · pl żeglarz portugalski (Physalia physalis) · it caravella portoghese (Physalia physalis) · cy chwysigen fôr (Physalia physalis) · fr galère portugaise (Physalia physalis) · pl bąbelnica bąbelcowa (Physalia physalis) · tr Portekiz askeri (Physalia physalis) · ja カツオノエボシ (Physalia physalis) · cmn 僧帽水母 (Physalia physalis) · ru физа́лия (Physalia physalis) · ca borm de vela (Physalia physalis) · fr vessie de mer (Physalia physalis) · gl carabela (Physalia physalis) · de Portugiesische Galeere (Physalia physalis)