martial

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈmɑɹʃəl/ UK /ˈmɑːʃəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #4900

Meanings

1

adj
Relating to war, soldiers, or the armed forces.

The parade was full of martial music and marching troops.
2

adj
Showing the qualities of a warrior, such as courage and discipline.

He carried himself with a martial bearing even in old age.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · showing the qualities of a... soldierlikewarriorlike

Word family

Derived forms antimartialimmartialmartialismmartialistmartialitymartializemartiallymartialnessnonmartialunmartial

Related forms marsmartin

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

martial law
military control over civilian affairs during a war or severe emergency

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Martial derives from Mars, the name of the Roman god of war. It entered English in the late Middle Ages with the meaning “relating to fighting or war.”

Etymology

From Middle English martial, marcial, mercial, mercialle (“relating to war, warlike; military; for use in fighting or warfare; brave, hardy; combative, fierce; ruthless, vicious; domineering, overbearing”), from Middle French martial (modern French martial (“martial”)), or directly from its etymon Latin mārtiālis (“of or pertaining to Mars, the Roman god of war”), from Mārtius (“of or pertaining to Mars”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). The English word is cognate with Italian marziale (“martial”), Portuguese marcial (“martial”), Spanish marcial (“martial”).

martial Middle English mārtiālis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# martial

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɑɹʃəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɑːʃəl/
**Frequency rank:** 4900

## Meanings
1. Relating to war, soldiers, or the armed forces.
2. Showing the qualities of a warrior, such as courage and discipline.

## Examples
- The parade was full of martial music and marching troops.
- He carried himself with a martial bearing even in old age.

## Derived Forms
- antimartial
- immartial
- martialism
- martialist
- martiality
- martialize
- martially
- martialness
- nonmartial
- unmartial

## Related Forms
- mars
- martin

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: martial
- Root: mārtiālis

## Etymology
From Middle English martial, marcial, mercial, mercialle (“relating to war, warlike; military; for use in fighting or warfare; brave, hardy; combative, fierce; ruthless, vicious; domineering, overbearing”), from Middle French martial (modern French martial (“martial”)), or directly from its etymon Latin mārtiālis (“of or pertaining to Mars, the Roman god of war”), from Mārtius (“of or pertaining to Mars”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). The English word is cognate with Italian marziale (“martial”), Portuguese marcial (“martial”), Spanish marcial (“martial”).

## AI Etymology
Martial comes from Middle English martial, marcial, mercial, mercialle (“relating to war, warlike; military; for use in fighting or warfare; brave, hardy; combative, fierce; ruthless, vicious; domineering, overbearing”), from Middle French martial (modern French martial (“martial”)), or directly from its etymon Latin mārtiālis (“of or pertaining to Mars, the Roman god of war”), from Mārtius (“of or pertaining to Mars”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). The English word is cognate with Italian marziale (“martial”), Portuguese marcial (“martial”), Spanish marcial (“martial”). The historical chain includes martial (Middle English), martial (Middle French), and mārtiālis (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as antimartial, immartial, martialism, and martialist and related forms such as mars and martin. In present use it covers relating to war, soldiers, or the armed forces and showing the qualities of a warrior, such as courage and discipline.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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