martyr
pronunciation
How to pronounce martyr in British English:
UK [ˈmɑːtə(r)]
How to pronounce martyr in American English:
US [ˈmɑːrtər]
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- Noun:
- one who suffers for the sake of principle
- one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion
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- Verb:
- kill as a martyr
- torture and torment like a martyr
Word Origin
- martyr
- martyr: [OE] Etymologically, a martyr is a ‘witness’ – that was the original meaning of Greek mártur, which came ultimately from Indo-European *mer ‘remember’ (source of English memory, mourn, remember, etc). In Christian usage, the notion of someone dying as a ‘witness’ to their faith led to the application of mártur to ‘martyr’, and it was in this sense that it passed via Latin martyr into Old English.=> memory, mourn, remember
- martyr (n.)
- Old English martyr, from Late Latin martyr, from Doric Greek martyr, earlier martys (genitive martyros), in Christian use "martyr," literally "witness," probably related to mermera "care, trouble," from mermairein "be anxious or thoughtful," from PIE *(s)mrtu- (cognates: Sanskrit smarati "remember," Latin memor "mindful;" see memory). Adopted directly into most Germanic languages, but Norse substituted native formation pislarvattr, literally "torture-witness." General sense of "constant sufferer" is from 1550s. Martyr complex "exaggerated desire for self-sacrifice" is attested from 1920.
- martyr (v.)
- Old English martyrian, from martyr (see martyr (n.)). Middle English also had a verb martyrize.
Synonym
Example
- 1. One is that the sentence makes mr irving look a martyr .
- 2. A terrorist in th e south , a martyr in the north .
- 3. Muhammad bouazizi 's grave is marked by a tunisian flag and a martyr 's epitaph .
- 4. Bin laden wanted to die as a martyr .
- 5. And he added in his own mind , " for the martyr here below . "