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martyr
- 6 dictionary resultsmar⋅tyr
[mahr-ter] 
–noun
| 1. | a person who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his or her religion. |
| 2. | a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause: a martyr to the cause of social justice. |
| 3. | a person who undergoes severe or constant suffering: a martyr to severe headaches. |
| 4. | a person who seeks sympathy or attention by feigning or exaggerating pain, deprivation, etc. |
–verb (used with object)
| 5. | to make a martyr of, esp. by putting to death. |
| 6. | to torment or torture. |
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME marter, OE martyr < LL < LGk mártyr, var. of Gk mártys, mártyros witness; (v.) ME martiren, OE martyrian, deriv. of n.
bef. 900; (n.) ME marter, OE martyr < LL < LGk mártyr, var. of Gk mártys, mártyros witness; (v.) ME martiren, OE martyrian, deriv. of n.
Related forms:
mar⋅tyr⋅ish, adjective
mar⋅tyr⋅ly, adverb, adjective
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 martyr
| mar·tyr (mär'tər) n.
[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Late Greek martur, from Greek martus, martur-, witness.] |
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
Martyr
Mar"tyr\, n. [AS., from L. martyr, Gr. ma`rtyr, ma`rtys, prop., a witness; cf. Skr. sm[.r] 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 martyr ! --Shak.Martyr
Mar"tyr\, v. 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 martyrest with sorrow and with smart. --Spenser. Racked with sciatics, martyred with the stone. --Pope.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : martyr
Spanish:
mártir,
German:
der Märtyrer,
Japanese:
殉教者
martyr
O.E., from L.L., from Gk. martyr, earlier martys (gen. martyros) in Christian use "martyr," lit. "witness," probably related to mermera "care, trouble," from mermairein "be anxious or thoughtful," from PIE *(s)mrtu- (cf. Skt. smarati "remember," L. memor "mindful;" see memory). Adopted directly into most Gmc. languages, but O.N. substituted native formation pislarvattr, lit. "torture-witness." Martyr complex "exaggerated desire for self-sacrifice" is attested from 1931.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Martyr
one who bears witness of the truth, and suffers death in the cause of Christ (Acts 22:20; Rev. 2:13; 17:6). In this sense Stephen was the first martyr. The Greek word so rendered in all other cases is translated "witness." (1.) In a court of justice (Matt. 18:16; 26:65; Acts 6:13; 7:58; Heb. 10:28; 1 Tim. 5:19). (2.) As of one bearing testimony to the truth of what he has seen or known (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8, 22; Rom. 1:9; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10; 1 John 1:2).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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