See Also: pia mater(medicine)
mater(dictionary)
pia mater(dictionary)
mater(dictionary)
mater(medicine)
Mater Hospital(health)
Mater Dei Hospital Tal(health)
Dura mater(health)
Mater fund(finance)
Alma Mater(dictionary)

man-of-war (iou) and mater (iou)


man-of-war (iou)



man-of-war noun. . LME.
[In sense 1 app. after French homme de guerre; in sense 2 cf. MAN noun 15.]
A fighting man; a soldier, a warrior. Now arch. or joc. LME.
A vessel equipped for warfare; a warship belonging to the recognized navy of a country. Now chiefly Hist. L15.
A sailor serving on a man-of-war. More usu. man-of-war's-man. Now chiefly Hist. L16.
More fully man-of-war bird. A large sea bird; spec. a frigate-bird. M17.
In full Portuguese man-of-war. A large pelagic siphonophore of the genus Physalia, with a float like a sail and numerous stinging tentacles. E18.
Hist. Used attrib. to designate a boy's garment resembling that worn by a sailor. L19.
Comb.: man-of-war fish any of various tropical marine fishes of the family Nomeidae, esp. Nomeus gronovii, which is often found among the tentacles of Portuguese men-of-war.

mater (iou)



mater noun. L16.
[Latin, lit. 'mother'.]
The thickest plate of an astrolabe. obsolete exc. Hist. L16.
Mother. Cf. PATER. Chiefly joc. & School slang. M19.
? Earlier in DURA MATER, PIA MATER. See also ALMA MATER.