## Meanings
1. A group of ordinary citizens trained as soldiers to fight in an emergency, rather than professional troops.
2. An armed group acting outside official government control.

## Examples
- When the regular army was overwhelmed, a local militia was formed to defend the town.
- Rival militias fought for control of the capital after the government collapsed.

## Derived Forms
- antimilitia
- militialike
- militiaman
- militiaperson
- militiawoman

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mīlitia

## Etymology
From Latin mīlitia (“army, military force/service”), from mīles (“soldier”). Doublet of militsia. The use of "militia" rather than "police" to refer to the police force (of Belarus and some other countries) originated in the USSR.

## AI Etymology
Militia comes from Latin mīlitia (“army, military force/service”), from mīles (“soldier”). Doublet of militsia. The use of "militia" rather than "police" to refer to the police force (of Belarus and some other countries) originated in the USSR. The historical chain includes mīlitia (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as antimilitia, militialike, militiaman, and militiaperson. In present use it covers a group of ordinary citizens trained as soldiers to fight in an emergency, rather than professional troops and an armed group acting outside official government control.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- War & Conflict

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