Link Centre Dictionary

martial

mar·tial

UK/ˈmɑːʃəl/ US/ˈmɑɹʃəl/ common
adjective (3) noun (1)

adjective

1.

(of persons) befitting a warrior

  • “a military bearing”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

suggesting war or military life

Synonyms
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3.

of or relating to the armed forces

  • “martial law”
Similar

noun

1.

Roman poet noted for epigrams (first century BC)

Origin

From Middle English martial, marcial, mercial, mercialle (“relating to war, warlike; military; for use in fighting or warfare; brave, hardy; combative, fierce; ruthless, vicious; domineering, overbearing”), from Middle French martial (modern French martial (“martial”)), or directly from its etymon Latin mārtiālis (“of or pertaining to Mars, the Roman god of war”), from Mārtius (“of or pertaining to Mars”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). The English word is cognate with Italian marziale (“martial”), Portuguese marcial (“martial”), Spanish marcial (“martial”).

Phrases

  • court martial
  • martial art
  • martial artist
  • martial eagle
  • martial law

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.