martyr

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“
The death of the martyr is the triumph of his creed.

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Definitions (24)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.
  2. noun One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.
  3. noun One who endures great suffering: a martyr to arthritis.
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Examples (50)

  • They looked upon this young villain as a martyr, and at once dedicated an elegy to him, in which I was compared with Medea, Circe, and Fredegonde It is precisely on account of this elegy that I have cared to set down this cruel anecdote. —  The Entire Memoirs of Madame de Montespan
  • This martyr was a cousin, once removed, of the murdered ecclesiastic. —  John Knox and the Reformation
  • Christian context, a martyr is an innocent person who, without seeking death, is murdered or put to death for his or her religious faith or convictions. —  Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en]
  • Hampden had offered up his life as a martyr, and Pym, the great lawyer and statesman, had died from exhaustion. —  A Modern History, From the Time of Luther to the Fall of Napoleon For the Use of Schools and Colleges
  • Have you never heard a good thing of me, my child Emeline, facing her adversary, was enraged at the conviction which the moderation and gentleness of a martyr was able to work in her Oh yes, indeed, I have heard one good thing of you--your undertaking the salvation of eight or nine wives Not yet nine," he responded, humorously. —  The King Of Beaver, and Beaver Lights From "Mackinac And Lake Stories", 1899
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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Late Greek martur, from Greek martus, martur-, witness.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English martyr, martir, marter, from Anglo-Saxon martyr = Old Saxon OFries. martir = Old High German martyr = Swedish Danish martyr = Gothic (Moesogothic) martyr (also with added suffix, Dutch martelaar = Middle Low German martelēre = Old High German martirari, Middle High German marterer, merterer, marteler, merteler, marterœre, German märtyrer) = Old French martir, French martyr = Provencal martyr = Spanish martir = Portuguese martyr = Italian martire, from Late Latin martyr, from Greek μάρτυρ, μάρτυς, a witness, LGr. one who by his death bore witness to the Christian faith; literally ‘one who remembers’ (cf. μέρμερος, anxious, Latin memor, remembering), from μαρ = Sanskrit √ smar, remember: see memory.
  2. from Middle English martyren, martiren, from Old French martirer, make a martyr of, from martir, martyr: see martyr, n.
 

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/ˈmɑrtər/
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