Martyr

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈmɐːtə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A person who willingly suffers death or endures pain for their beliefs, an individual who sacrifices their life for a cause, or someone who is persecuted or dies for their convictions
2. An individual who undergoes great suffering or dies for a principle or cause, a person who exemplifies selflessness in the name of their beliefs, or a figure who is glorified due to their sacrifice for a greater purpose
3. A person who suffers greatly or dies for their values, an individual who endures persecution for their ideals, or someone revered for making the ultimate sacrifice for a noble cause

Etymology: The Greek "mártus" originally meant simply "witness," someone who could testify to what they had seen. The word's journey from courtroom testimony to death for faith happened gradually. Early Christians applied it to those who bore witness to Christ, and when persecution made that testimony fatal, "witness" slid into "one who dies for the faith." The Greek form "mártur" is a later version of the same word, and it reached Old English as "martyr" through Ecclesiastical Latin. Old English took the word directly from Church Latin, so it arrived in English with its religious meaning already in place, and it entered Middle English as "martir." The older sense of simple witnessing survives mostly in the word's ancestry, which is why a martyr is, at root, a person who testifies with their life.

Synonyms: saint, sufferer, victim, hero, sacrificial

Antonyms: persecutor, oppressor, torturer, antagonist, enemy