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militants

 - 3 dictionary results

mil⋅i⋅tant

  [mil-i-tuhnt]
–adjective
1. vigorously active and aggressive, esp. in support of a cause: militant reformers.
2. engaged in warfare; fighting.
–noun
3. a militant person.
4. a person engaged in warfare or combat.
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Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L mīlitant- (s. of mīlitāns), prp. of mīlitāre to serve as a soldier. See militate, -ant

Related forms:
mil⋅i⋅tan⋅cy, mil⋅i⋅tant⋅ness, noun
mil⋅i⋅tant⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. belligerent, combative, contentious. See fanatic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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mil·i·tant   (mĭl'ĭ-tənt)   
adj.  

  1. Fighting or warring.

  2. Having a combative character; aggressive, especially in the service of a cause: a militant political activist.

n.  A fighting, warring, or aggressive person or party.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mīlitāns, mīlitant-, present participle of mīlitāre, to serve as a soldier; see militate.]
mil'i·tance, mil'i·tan·cy n., mil'i·tant·ly adv.
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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Word Origin & History

militant  (adj.)
1413, from M.Fr. militant "fighting," from L. militantem (nom. militans), prp. of militare "serve as a soldier" (see militate), originally especially in Church militant. The noun, in the sense of "one engaged in war or strife," is first attested 1610, from the adj.; in political sense, it is first attested 1907.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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