man of war
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A warship in the navy of a government; though the name is masculine, always spoken of as "she." Formerly the term was used to denote a fighting man ("the Lord is a man of war," Ex. xv, 3).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “man of war” mean?
A warship in the navy of a government; though the name is masculine, always spoken of as "she." Formerly the term was used to denote a fighting man ("the Lord is a man of war," Ex. xv, 3).
Is “man of war” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.