Man-of-war

This article is about a type of warship. For other uses, see Man of war (disambiguation) and Man o' war (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Portuguese man o' war.

A Dutch man-of-war firing a salute. The Cannon Shot, painting by Willem van de Velde the Younger.

In Royal Navy jargon, a man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man)[1][2] was a powerful warship or frigate of the 16th to the 19th century, that was frequently used in Europe. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a sailing ship armed with cannon. The rating system of the Royal Navy classified men-of-war into six "rates", a "first-rate" having the greatest armament, and a "sixth-rate" the least.

  1. ^ "man-of-war". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. ^ "man-of-war". Collins English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2014.