Link Centre Dictionary

martyr

mar·tyr

UK/ˈmɑːtə(ɹ)/ US/ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/ fairly common
noun (2) verb (2)

noun

1.

one who suffers for the sake of principle

Synonyms
2.

one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion

verb

1.

kill as a martyr

  • “Saint Sebastian was martyred”
2.

Origin

From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Phrases

  • great martyr
  • martyr complex
  • metric martyr

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower 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.