Portuguese man-of-warn.
/ˌpɔːtʃᵿˌɡiːz ˌmanə(v)ˈwɔː/, /ˌpɔːtjᵿˌɡiːz ˌmanə(v)ˈwɔː/, U.S. /ˈˌpɔrtʃəˌɡiz ˌmænə(v)ˈwɔr/ A large colonial jellyfish-like animal, Physalia physalis (order Siphonophora, phylum Cnidaria), which floats on the surface of the sea in warm regions by means of a conspicuous sail-like float, and has numerous long stinging tentacles. Also: a similar but smaller siphonophore of the Indo-Pacific, P. utriculus, which has a single tentacle (also called bluebottle).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Diploblastica > phylum Coelenterata > [noun] > class Hydrozoa > order Siphonophora > genus Physalia > member of
Portuguese man-of-war1707
sea-bladder1860
bluebottle1906
1707 H. Sloane Voy. Islands I. 7 What the Seamen call a Caravel or Portuguese Man of War, which seems to be a Zoophytum, or of a middle Nature between a Plant and an Animal.
1784 J. Green Jrnl. 20 Mar. in Amer. Neptune (1950) 10 95 Saw Some Petrels & Severall Read Portagees Men of wawr.
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xxii. 552 The sensation was as bad as that from a nettle, but more like that caused by the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia).
1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 188/2 The Portuguese man-of-war (physalia) with its long azure tentacles.
1952 E. Hemingway Old Man & Sea 32 The purple, formalized, iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portuguese man-of-war floating close beside the boat.
1994 Undercurrents Summer 13/1 Portuguese man-of-war is a jellyfish to stay clear of, because it can give you a painful sting.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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