martyr

English

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

(General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/, [ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)], [ˈmɐːɾə(ɹ)]
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːtə(ɹ)/[1]
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑɹ.tɚ/, [ˈmɑɹ.ɾɚ][1]
Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (UK) (file)
Hyphenation: mar‧tyr

Noun

martyr (plural martyrs)

One who willingly accepts being put to death for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after martyrdom.
Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr.
(by extension) One who sacrifices their life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
(with a prepositional phrase of cause) One who suffers greatly and/or constantly, even involuntarily.
Stan is a martyr to arthritis, Chris a martyr to Stan's endless moaning about it.
- 1937, AJ Cronin, The Citadel:
  He'd been a martyr to asthma all his life.

Antonyms

apostate
confessor

Hyponyms

shaheed, shahid (a martyr for Islam)

Derived terms

great martyr
martyr complex
martyrdom
martyress
martyrial
martyrish
martyrizate
martyrize
martyrizer
martyrless
martyrly
martyrolatry
martyrship

Related terms

martyrdom
martyrion
martyrium
martyrologe
martyrologue
martyrology
martyry
protomartyr

Translations

one willing to be killed for religion

Albanian: dëshmor (sq) m
Arabic: شَهِيد‎ (ar) m (šahīd), شَهِيدَة‎ f (šahīda) (plural: شُهَدَاء‎ m pl (šuhadāʾ))
Aramaic: ܣܗܕܐ‎ (sahdah)
Armenian: մարտիրոս (hy) (martiros), նահատակ (hy) (nahatak), վկա (hy) (vka)
Azerbaijani: şəhid (az)
Bashkir: шаһит (şahit)
Belarusian: паку́тнік m (pakútnik), паку́тніца f (pakútnica), му́чальнік m (múčalʹnik), му́чальніца f (múčalʹnica), му́чанік m (múčanik), му́чаніца f (múčanica)
Bengali: শহীদ (śôhīd)
Bulgarian: мъчени́к (bg) m (mǎčeník), мъчени́чка f (mǎčeníčka)
Catalan: màrtir (ca) m or f
Chechen: ӏазапхо (ˀazapxo)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 烈士 (zh) (lièshì), 殉道者 (xùndàozhě)
Czech: mučedník (cs) m, mučednice f
Danish: martyr c
Dutch: martelaar (nl) m, martelares (nl) f
Erzya: майсиця (majsicja)
Esperanto: martiro
Estonian: märter
Finnish: marttyyri (fi), shahid
French: martyr (fr) m, martyre (fr) f, chahîd m, chahid m
Galician: mártir m or f
Georgian: წამებული (c̣amebuli), მოწამე (moc̣ame), მარტვილი (marṭvili)
German: Märtyrer (de) m, Märtyrerin (de) f
Greek: μάρτυρας (el) m or f (mártyras)
Hebrew: שָׁהִיד‎ (he) m
Hindi: शहीद (hi) m (śahīd), शहीदा f (śahīdā)
Hungarian: mártír (hu), vértanú (hu)
Icelandic: píslarvottur m
Indonesian: syahid (id), martir (id)
Italian: martire (it) m
Japanese: 殉教者 (じゅんきょうしゃ, junkyōsha), シャヒード (shahīdo)
Kazakh: шаһит (şahit), шейіт (şeiıt)
Korean: 순교자 (sun'gyoja), 샤히드 (syahideu)
Kumyk: шагьит (şahit)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: şehîd (ku)
Macedonian: маченик m (mačenik), маченичка f (mačenička)
Malay: syahid (ms), martir (ms)
Malayalam: രക്തസാക്ഷി (ml) (raktasākṣi)
Maori: matira
Norman: martyr m
Norwegian: martyr (no) m
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: мѫченикъ m (mǫčenikŭ)
Ottoman Turkish: شهید‎
Pashto: شهيد‎ (ps) m (šahíd)
Persian: شهید‎ (fa) (šahid)
Polish: męczennik (pl) m, męczennica (pl) f
Portuguese: mártir (pt) m
Punjabi: ਸ਼ਹੀਦ (pa) (śahīd)
Romanian: mucenic (ro) m, muceniță (ro) f
Russian: му́ченик (ru) m (múčenik), му́ченица (ru) f (múčenica), шахи́д (ru) m (šaxíd), шахи́дка (ru) f (šaxídka)
Scottish Gaelic: martair m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: мученик m, шехид m (Islam)
Roman: mučenik (sh) m, šehid m (Islam)
Slovak: mučeník m, mučeníčka f, martýr m, martýrka f
Slovene: mučenik m, mučenica f
Spanish: mártir (es) m
Swedish: martyr (sv) c
Tajik: шаҳид (šahid)
Tatar: шаһит (tt) (şahit)
Turkish: şehit (tr), gazi (tr), şehitler pl, gaziler pl, mücahit (tr), mücahid (tr)
Turkmen: şahit
Ukrainian: му́ченик m (múčenyk), му́чениця f (múčenycja)
Urdu: شہید‎ m (šahīd)
Uyghur: شاھىت‎ (shahit)
Uzbek: shahid (uz)
Volapük: (♂♀) martüran (vo), (♂) himartüran (vo), (♀) jimartüran (vo)
Welsh: merthyr (cy) m
Zazaki: şehid

one who sacrifices their life for an important cause

Armenian: նահատակ (hy) (nahatak)
Catalan: màrtir (ca) m or f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 烈士 (zh) (lièshì)
Danish: martyr c
Dutch: martelaar (nl) m
Estonian: märter
Finnish: marttyyri (fi)
French: martyr (fr) m
Greek: μάρτυρας (el) m or f (mártyras)
Hindi: शहीद (hi) m (śahīd)
Hungarian: mártír (hu), vértanú (hu)
Italian: martire (it) m
Japanese: 殉教者 (じゅんきょうしゃ, junkyōsha)
Malayalam: രക്തസാക്ഷി (ml) (raktasākṣi)
Norwegian: martyr (no) m
Persian: شهید‎ (fa) (shahid)
Polish: cierpiętnik (pl) m, cierpiętnica f, męczennik (pl) m, męczennica (pl) f
Portuguese: mártir (pt) m
Romanian: martir (ro)
Russian: му́ченик (ru) m (múčenik), му́ченица (ru) f (múčenica)
Scottish Gaelic: martair m
Serbo-Croatian: мученик m, mučenik (sh) m
Spanish: mártir (es) m
Swedish: martyr (sv) c
Turkish: şehit (tr)
Welsh: merthyr (cy) m

one who suffers greatly, even involuntarily

Catalan: màrtir (ca) m or f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 受難者／受难者 (zh) (shòunànzhě)
Danish: martyr c
Dutch: martelaar (nl) m
Estonian: märter
Finnish: uhri (fi)
French: martyr (fr) m
Greek: μάρτυρας (el) m or f (mártyras)
Hungarian: mártír (hu)
Italian: martire (it)
Japanese: 受難者 (junansha)
Malayalam: രക്തസാക്ഷി (ml) (raktasākṣi)
Norwegian: martyr (no) m
Portuguese: mártir (pt) m
Russian: му́ченик (ru) m (múčenik), му́ченица (ru) f (múčenica), страда́лец (ru) m (stradálec), страда́лица (ru) f (stradálica)
Scottish Gaelic: martair m
Spanish: mártir (es) m
Swedish: martyr (sv) c
Turkish: mücahit (tr), mücahitler pl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

French: ^{(please verify)} martyr (fr) m, ^{(please verify)} martyre (fr) f
German: ^{(please verify)} Märtyrer (de) m
Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} martyr
Korean: ^{(please verify)} 순교자 (sun'gyoja)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} şehîd (ku)
Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} martyr (no) m
Persian: ^{(please verify)} شهید‎ (fa) (šahid)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} мученик m
Roman: ^{(please verify)} mučenik (sh) m
Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} mučenik (sh) m
Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} mučenik (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} šehit (sh) m
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} martyr (sv)
Urdu: ^{(please verify)} شہید‎ m (šahīd)
Volapük: ^{(please verify)} martüran (vo)

Verb

martyr (third-person singular simple present martyrs, present participle martyring, simple past and past participle martyred)

(transitive) To make someone into a martyr by putting them to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.
(transitive) To persecute.
Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.
(transitive) To torment; to torture.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IIII, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, OCLC 932900760, stanza 2, page 94:
  […] The louely Amoret,whoſe gentle hart
  Thou martyreſt with ſorow and with ſmart, […]

Synonyms

martyrize

Derived terms

martyrer

Translations

to make someone a martyr

Chinese:
Mandarin: 使殉难, 处死 (zh)
Finnish: tehdä (jostakin) marttyyri
French: martyriser (fr)
Hindi: शहीद करना (śahīd karnā), क़ुरबान करना (qurbān karnā)
Malayalam: രക്തസാക്ഷിയാക്കുക (raktasākṣiyākkuka)
Polish: zadać męczeńską śmierć
Portuguese: martirizar (pt)
Romanian: martiriza (ro)
Spanish: martirizar (es)

persecute — see persecute

torture — see torture

References

“martyr”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish martir. Borrowed via Ecclesiastical Latin martyr from Ancient Greek μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmɑːˌtˢyɐ̯ˀ]

Noun

martyr c (singular definite martyren, plural indefinite martyrer)

martyr

Declension

Declension of martyr

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	martyr	martyren	martyrer	martyrerne
genitive	martyrs	martyrens	martyrers	martyrernes

References

“martyr” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From Old French martire, borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /maʁ.tiʁ/
Audio (file)

Noun

martyr m (plural martyrs, feminine martyre)

martyr

Related terms

martyre

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmar.tyr/, [ˈmärt̪ʏr]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmar.tir/, [ˈmärt̪ir]

Noun

martyr m or f (genitive martyris); third declension

(Ecclesiastical Latin) martyr, especially a Christian martyr

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	martyr	martyrēs
Genitive	martyris	martyrum
Dative	martyrī	martyribus
Accusative	martyrem	martyrēs
Ablative	martyre	martyribus
Vocative	martyr	martyrēs

Related terms

martyrium

Descendants

→ Proto-Brythonic: *merθɨr (see there for further descendants)
→ Danish: martyr
→ Dutch: martelaar
→ Estonian: märter
→ Finnish: marttyyri
→ Old French: martire
- French: martyr
- → Middle English: martir
  - Scots: mairtyr
  - English: martyr
    - → Maori: matira
- Norman: martyr
→ German: Märtyrer
→ Hungarian: mártír
→ Old Irish: martar
Old Italian: martore
→ Italian: martire
Lombard: màrtul
Neapolitan: marture
→ Norwegian: martyr
→ Old Occitan:
- Catalan: màrtir
- Occitan: martir
→ Old Portuguese:
- Galician: mártir
- Portuguese: mártir
Romanian: martor
Sardinian: màrturu
Sicilian: màrtiri
→ Scottish Gaelic: martair
→ Spanish: mártir
- → Tagalog: martir
→ Swedish: martyr

References

“martyr”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
martyr in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Norman

Etymology

From Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Noun

martyr m (plural martyrs)

(religion) martyr

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Noun

martyr m (definite singular martyren, indefinite plural martyrer, definite plural martyrene)

martyr

Related terms

martre
martyrdød
martyrium

References

“martyr” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Noun

martyr m (definite singular martyren, indefinite plural martyrar, definite plural martyrane)

martyr

Related terms

martyrdød
martyrium

References

“martyr” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Alternative forms

martyre, martir

Etymology

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Noun

martyr m

martyr

Declension

Declension of martyr (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	martyr	martyras
accusative	martyr	martyras
genitive	martyres	martyra
dative	martyre	martyrum

Derived terms

martyrcynn
martyrdōm
martyrhād
martyrian
martyrracu
martyrung

References

Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898), “martyr”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -yːr

Noun

martyr c

martyr

Declension

Declension of martyr
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	martyr	martyren	martyrer	martyrerna
Genitive	martyrs	martyrens	martyrers	martyrernas

Related terms

martyrskap

[oed-1] “martyr”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

martyr

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Antonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

Danish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

References

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Latin

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms

Descendants

References

Norman

Etymology

Noun

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Noun

Related terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Noun

Related terms

References

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

References

Swedish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms