martyr : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: martyr	by the DICT Development Group
4 results for martyr
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
martyr n one who suffers for the sake of principle [syn: martyr, sufferer] one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion v kill as a martyr; "Saint Sebastian was martyred" torture and torment like a martyr Synonym(s): martyr, martyrize, martyrise
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Martyr \Mar"tyr\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Martyred}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Martyring}.] 1. To put to death for adhering to some belief, esp. Christianity; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession. --Bp. Pearson. 2. To persecute; to torment; to torture. --Chaucer. The lovely Amoret, whose gentle heart Thou martyrest with sorrow and with smart. --Spenser. Racked with sciatics, martyred with the stone. --Pope.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Martyr \Mar"tyr\, n. [AS., from L. martyr, Gr. ma`rtyr, ma`rtys, prop., a witness; cf. Skr. sm[rsdot] to remember, E. memory.] 1. One who, by his death, bears witness to the truth of the gospel; one who is put to death for his religion; as, Stephen was the first Christian martyr. --Chaucer. To be a martyr, signifies only to witness the truth of Christ; but the witnessing of the truth was then so generally attended with persecution, that martyrdom now signifies not only to witness, but to witness by death --South. 2. Hence, one who sacrifices his life, his station, or what is of great value to him, for the sake of principle, or to sustain a cause. Then if thou fall'st, O Cromwell, Thou fall'st a blessed martyr ! --Shak.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Martyr one who bears witness of the truth, and suffers death in the cause of Christ (Acts 22:20; Rev. 2:13; 17:6). In this sense Stephen was the first martyr. The Greek word so rendered in all other cases is translated "witness." (1.) In a court of justice (Matt. 18:16; 26:65; Acts 6:13; 7:58; Heb. 10:28; 1 Tim. 5:19). (2.) As of one bearing testimony to the truth of what he has seen or known (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8, 22; Rom. 1:9; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10; 1 John 1:2).