- of or suitable for war: martial songs
- showing a readiness or eagerness to fight; warlike
- of the army, the navy, or military life; military
Origin of martial
Middle English martialle from Classical Latin martialis, of Mars
adjective
The definition of martial is warlike or appropriate in times of war.
When military law goes into affect because of fear of war, this is an example of martial law.
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"martial." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial>.
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martial. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial
martial
Martial
(Marcus Valerius Martialis) 40?-104?; Rom. epigrammatist & poet, born in Spain
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"martial." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial>.
APA Style
martial. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial
martial
adjective
- Of, relating to, or suggestive of war.
- Relating to or connected with the armed forces or the profession of arms.
- Characteristic of or befitting a warrior.
Origin of martial
Middle English from Latin mārtiālis of the god Mars from Mārs Mārt- MarsRelated Forms:
- mar′tial·ism
noun
- mar′tial·ist
noun
- mar′tial·ly
adverb
Martial
Originally Marcus Valerius Martialis. AD 40?-c. 100
Roman poet known for his books of epigrams.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"martial." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial>.
APA Style
martial. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial
Adjective
(comparative more martial, superlative most martial)
- Of, relating to, or suggestive of war; warlike.
- Relating to or connected with the armed forces or the profession of arms or military life.
- (comparable) Characteristic of or befitting a warrior; having a military bearing; soldierly, soldierlike, warriorlike.
Origin
From Latin martialis (“of Mars (Roman god of war)")
Proper noun
- A male given name narrowly applied to certain historic persons (but some of its foreign cognates are modern given names).
- Saint Martial was the first bishop of Limoges circa 250
- Anglicized cognomen or given name of the Roman poet Marcus Valerius Martialis, born in Spain in the first century AD and noted for his epigrams.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"martial." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial>.
APA Style
martial. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/martial
Sentence Examples
- Martial law was proclaimed.
- A court martial stripped him of his military rank.
- His attitude was martial.
- We live in a chillingly martial world.
- The recruits drilled while singing martial songs.
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