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Webster 1913 Edition
Martyr
Mar′tyr
,Noun.
[AS., from L.
martyr
, Gr. μάρτυρ
, μάρτυς
, prop., a witness; cf. Skr. smṛ
to remember, E. memory
.] 1.
One who, by his death, bears witness to the truth of the gospel; one who is put to death for his religion;
as,
. Stephen
was the first Christian martyr
Chaucer.
To be a
martyr
, signifies only to witness the truth of Christ; but the witnessing of the truth was then so generally attended with persecution, that martyrdom now signifies not only to witness, but to witness by death. South.
2.
Hence, one who sacrifices his life, his station, or what is of great value to him, for the sake of principle, or to sustain a cause.
Then if thou fall’st, O Cromwell,
Thou fall'st a blessed
Thou fall'st a blessed
martyr
! Shakespeare
Mar′tyr
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Martyred
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Martyring
.] 1.
To put to death for adhering to some belief, esp. Christianity; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.
Bp. Pearson.
2.
To persecute; to torment; to torture.
Chaucer.
The lovely Amoret, whose gentle heart
Thou
Thou
martyrest
with sorrow and with smart. Spenser.
Racked with sciatics,
martyred
with the stone. Pope.
Webster 1828 Edition
Martyr
M`ARTYR
,Noun.
To be a martyr signifies only to witness the truth of Christ.
1.
One who suffers death in defense of any cause. We say, a man dies a martyr to his political principles or to the cause of liberty.M`ARTYR
,Verb.
T.
1.
To murder; to destroy.Definition 2024
martyr
martyr
English
Noun
martyr (plural martyrs)
- One who willingly accepts being put to death for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after martyrdom.
- Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr.
- (by extension) One who sacrifices his or her life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
- (with a prepositional phrase of cause) One who suffers greatly and/or constantly, even involuntarily.
- Stan is a martyr to arthritis, Chris a martyr to Stan's endless moaning about it.
- 1937, AJ Cronin, The Citadel:
- He'd been a martyr to asthma all his life.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from martyr
|
Related terms
Related terms
Translations
one willing to be killed for religion
|
|
one who sacrifices their life for an important cause
|
|
one who suffers greatly, even involuntarily
Verb
martyr (third-person singular simple present martyrs, present participle martyring, simple past and past participle martyred)
- (transitive) To make someone into a martyr by putting him or her to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.
- (transitive) To persecute.
- Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.
- (transitive) To torment; to torture.
- The lovely Amoret, whose gentle heart
- Thou martyrest with sorrow and with smart. — Spenser
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to make someone a martyr
persecute — see persecute
torture — see torture
Danish
Noun
martyr c (singular definite martyren, plural indefinite martyrer)
Declension
Inflection of martyr
References
- “martyr” in Den Danske Ordbog
French
Etymology
From Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).
Pronunciation
Noun
martyr m (plural martyrs, feminine martyre)
Related terms
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈmar.tir/
Noun
martyr m, f (genitive martyris); third declension
- (Ecclesiastical Latin) martyr, especially a Christian martyr
Inflection
Third declension.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | martyr | martyrēs |
| genitive | martyris | martyrum |
| dative | martyrī | martyribus |
| accusative | martyrem | martyrēs |
| ablative | martyre | martyribus |
| vocative | martyr | martyrēs |
Related terms
Descendants
References
- martyr in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- MARTYR in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
Norman
Etymology
From Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).
Noun
martyr m (plural martyrs)
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).
Noun
martyr m (definite singular martyren, indefinite plural martyrer, definite plural martyrene)
Related terms
References
- “martyr” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).
Noun
martyr m (definite singular martyren, indefinite plural martyrar, definite plural martyrane)
Related terms
References
- “martyr” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Swedish
Noun
martyr c
Declension
| Inflection of martyr | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | martyr | martyren | martyrer | martyrerna |
| Genitive | martyrs | martyrens | martyrers | martyrernas |
Related terms
- martyrskap