Nonmilitancy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The principle or practice of achieving political or social change through peaceful means rather than violence
2. The advocacy for resolving conflicts without resorting to armed struggle or aggression
3. A stance that promotes dialogue and nonviolent actions in place of militaristic approaches to issues

Etymology: Nonmilitancy is a plain formation rather than a story with a famous coiner: it is the English noun "nonmilitancy", built from the prefix "non-" ("not") and "militancy", the state of being militant. "Militant" comes from Latin "militans", the present participle of "militare", "to serve as a soldier", which itself derives from "miles", "soldier". The root sense of fighting men survives in the modern word, which for centuries described a person or group engaged in warfare or combat before it came to mean active, uncompromising campaigning for a cause. "Militancy" followed the same path, and "nonmilitancy" applies the negating prefix to that later political sense. The word is most often met in discussions of protest and social movements, where it describes a commitment to achieving goals through peaceful means rather than force. Its meaning is therefore a direct negation of the combative sense that "militant" acquired, rather than of the older soldierly meaning.

Synonyms: pacifism, nonviolence, peacefulness

Antonyms: militancy, aggression, belligerence