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mar·tyr

(märtər)

1. One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.

2. One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.

a. One who endures great suffering: a martyr to arthritis.

b. One who makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

tr.v. mar·tyred, mar·tyr·ing, mar·tyrs

1. To make a martyr of, especially to put to death for devotion to religious beliefs.

2. To inflict great pain on; torment.

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

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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