any marine colonial hydrozoan of the order Siphonophora, including the Portuguese man-of-war
Derived forms
siphonophorous (ˌsaɪfəˈnɒfərəs)
adjective
Word origin
C19: from New Latin siphonophora, from Greek siphōnophoros tube-bearing
siphonophore in American English
(ˈsaɪfənəˌfɔr; saɪˈfɑnəˌfɔr)
noun
any of an order (Siphonophora) of small, transparent, often colored, swimming or floating sea hydrozoans composed of several kinds of polyps and including the Portuguese man-of-war