sea devil

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Sea devil \Sea" dev`il\(Zool.) (a) Any very large ray, especially any species of the genus Manta or Cephaloptera, some of which become more than twenty feet across and weigh several tons. See also Ox ray, under Ox. (b) Any large cephalopod, as a large Octopus, or a giant squid (Architeuthis). See Devilfish. (c) The angler. [1913 Webster]

Ox \Ox\ ([o^]ks), n.; pl. Oxen. [AS. oxa; akin to D. os. G. ochs, ochse, OHG. ohso, Icel. oxi, Sw. & Dan. oxe, Goth. a['u]hsa, Skr. ukshan ox, bull; cf. Skr. uksh to sprinkle. [root]214. Cf. Humid, Aurochs.] (Zool.) The male of bovine quadrupeds, especially the domestic animal when castrated and grown to its full size, or nearly so. The word is also applied, as a general name, to any species of bovine animals, male and female. [1913 Webster]

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field. --Ps. viii. 7. [1913 Webster]

Note: The castrated male is called a steer until it attains its full growth, and then, an ox; but if castrated somewhat late in life, it is called a stag. The male, not castrated, is called a bull. These distinctions are well established in regard to domestic animals of this genus. When wild animals of this kind are spoken of, ox is often applied both to the male and the female. The name ox is never applied to the individual cow, or female, of the domestic kind. Oxen may comprehend both the male and the female. [1913 Webster]

Grunting ox (Zool.), the yak.

Indian ox (Zool.), the zebu.

Javan ox (Zool.), the banteng.

Musk ox. (Zool.) See under Musk.

Ox bile. See Ox gall, below.

Ox gall, the fresh gall of the domestic ox; -- used in the arts and in medicine.

Ox pith, ox marrow. [Obs.] --Marston.

Ox ray (Zool.), a very large ray (Dicerobatis Giornae) of Southern Europe. It has a hornlike organ projecting forward from each pectoral fin. It sometimes becomes twenty feet long and twenty-eight feet broad, and weighs over a ton. Called also sea devil.

To have the black ox tread on one's foot, to be unfortunate; to know what sorrow is (because black oxen were sacrificed to Pluto). --Leigh Hunt. [1913 Webster]

manta ray \manta ray\ n. An extremely large pelagic tropical ray of the family Mobulidae, that feeds on plankton and small fishes. It is usually harmless but its size (up to 20 feet across and up to a ton in weight) make it dangerous if harpooned. Called also manta, sea devil and devilfish. See also Cephaloptera and Sea devil. [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

Cephaloptera \Ceph`a*lop"te*ra\ (s[e^]f`[.a]*l[o^]p"t[-e]*r[.a]), n. [NL., fr. Gr. kefalh` head + ptero`n wing.] (Zool.) One of the generic names of the gigantic ray (Manta birostris) of the family Mobulidae, known as devilfish, sea devil, manta and manta ray. It is common on the coasts of South Carolina, Florida, and farther south, and is sometimes found as far north as New York Bay. Some of them grow to enormous size, becoming twenty feet of more across the body, and weighing more than a ton. [1913 Webster]