Martyr

Pronunciation

• enPR: märʹ-tÉ™r, IPA: /ˈmÉ‘rtÉ™r/
• AU IPA: ˈmaː.tÉ™(ɹ), ˈmaː.ɾə(ɹ)
• UK IPA: ˈmɑː.tÉ™(ɹ)
• US IPA: ˈmɑɹ.tÉš, ˈmɑɹ.ɾɚ
• Rhymes: -ɑː(r)tÉ™(r)

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English, itself from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ, later form of μάρτυς (martus, "witness").

Full definition of martyr

Noun

1. 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.
2. (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.
3. (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.
4. One who is killed or suffers greatly because of an identity or position, e.g., a young prince killed when his father, the king, is deposed for the purpose of preventing the restoration of the monarchy later.

Synonyms

• shaheed, shahid

Antonyms

• confessor

Derived terms

Related terms

• martyrdom
• martyrion
• martyrium
• martyrologe
• martyrologue
• martyrology
• martyry
• protomartyr

Verb

1. (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.
2. (transitive) To persecute.''Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.
3. (transitive) To torment; to torture.The lovely Amoret, whose gentle heartThou martyrest with sorrow and with smart. — Spenser

Synonyms

• martyrize

Derived terms

• martyrer