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Militia
- 4 dictionary resultsmi⋅li⋅tia
[mi-lish-uh] 
ə
–noun
| 1. | a body of citizens enrolled for military service, and called out periodically for drill but serving full time only in emergencies. |
| 2. | a body of citizen soldiers as distinguished from professional soldiers. |
| 3. | all able-bodied males considered by law eligible for military service. |
| 4. | a body of citizens organized in a paramilitary group and typically regarding themselves as defenders of individual rights against the presumed interference of the federal government. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Militia
| mi·li·tia (mə-lĭsh'ə) n.
[Latin mīlitia, warfare, military service, from mīles, mīlit-, soldier.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Militia
Mi*li"tia\, n. [L., military service, soldiery, fr. miles, militis, soldier: cf. F. milice.]1. In the widest sense, the whole military force of a nation, including both those engaged in military service as a business, and those competent and available for such service; specifically, the body of citizens enrolled for military instruction and discipline, but not subject to be called into actual service except in emergencies. The king's captains and soldiers fight his battles, and yet . . . the power of the militia is he. --Jer. Taylor. 2. Military service; warfare. [Obs.] --Baxter.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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militia
1590, "system of military discipline," from L. militia "military service, warfare," from miles "soldier" (see military). Sense of "citizen army" (as distinct from professional soldiers) is first recorded 1696, perhaps from Fr. milice. In U.S. history, "the whole body of men declared by law amenable to military service, without enlistment, whether armed and drilled or not" (1777).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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