martial

See also: Martial

English

Etymology

From Latin martialis (“of Mars (Roman god of war)”)

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑɹʃəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːʃəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)ʃəl
• Homophone: marshal

Adjective

martial (comparative more martial, superlative most martial)

1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of war; warlike.
   • Dryden

     But peaceful kings, o'er martial people set, / Each other's poise and counterbalance are.

2. Relating to or connected with the armed forces or the profession of arms or military life.
   • 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter XII, p. 194, [1]

     He was lying on the table with head pillowed on the broken concertina and body sheltered with the Federal Flag, looking like a martial corpse.

3. (comparable) Characteristic of or befitting a warrior; having a military bearing; soldierly, soldierlike, warriorlike.
4. (medicine, chemistry, obsolete) Relating to, or containing, iron; chalybeate.

   martial preparations

   martial flowers: a reddish crystalline salt of iron

Derived terms

terms derived from martial (adjective)

• court martial
• martial art
• martialism
• martialness

• martialist
• martial law
• martially

Translations

of, relating to, or suggestive of war; warlike

• Czech: bojový m
• Finnish: sotainen, sotaisa (fi)
• French: martial (fr)
• Georgian: საბრძოლო (sabrʒolo)
• German: kriegerisch (de), martialisch (de), kampflustig

• Hungarian: harci (hu)
• Irish: badhbha
• Polish: wojenny (pl) m
• Portuguese: marcial (pt), bélico (pt)
• Turkish: savaşçıl

relating to or connected with the armed forces or military life

• Finnish: sota- (fi)
• French: martial (fr)
• German: soldatisch, militärisch (de)

• Hungarian: hadi (hu)
• Portuguese: marcial (pt)
• Turkish: askerî (tr)

characteristic of or befitting a warrior

• Finnish: sotilaallinen (fi)
• French: martial (fr)
• German: kriegerisch (de), soldatisch

• Hungarian: délceg (hu), katonás (hu)
• Portuguese: marcial (pt)
• Turkish: savaşçıl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} martialisch
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} marziale

• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} marțial
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} marcial

See also

• Mars

Anagrams

• mail art, marital

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin martialis of Mars (Roman god of war)

Adjective

martial (feminine singular martiale, masculine plural martiaux, feminine plural martiales)

1. martial

Derived terms

• art martial

Further reading

• “martial” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).