martyr
/ˈmɑːtə/MAHR-tur
/ˈmɑɹtɚ/MAHR-tur
Meaninga witness
Common meaning: one killed for their beliefs
- martyra witnessLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 922 · scan
Journey through time
- Aryan root · reconstructed√SMAR‘remember, record’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 447, p. 746 · scan
- Greekμάρτυς, -υρος‘a witness’
- Latinmartyr
- Middle Englishmartirsource
- Englishmeaning shiftsa witness → one killed for their beliefsmartyr‘one killed for their beliefs’ · today
martyr also in: martyrdom
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek μάρτυς ‘a witness’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry μάρτυς, p. 922 · dictionary scan
Roots
- μάρτυς, -υρος Greek “a witness”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app