MARTIAL • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Martial

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/mˈɑrʃəl/ Listen

adjective

Martial adj.

1.

Of, pertaining to, or suited for, war; military; as, martial music; a martial appearance. "Martial equipage."

2.

Practiced in, or inclined to, war; warlike; brave. "But peaceful kings, o'er martial people set, Each other's poise and counterbalance are."

3.

Belonging to war, or to an army and navy; opposed to civil; as, martial law; a court-martial.

4.

Pertaining to, or resembling, the god, or the planet, Mars.

5.

(Old Chem. & Old Med.) Pertaining to, or containing, iron; chalybeate; as, martial preparations. (Archaic)

Martial flowers (Med.), a reddish crystalline salt of iron; the ammonio-chloride of iron. (Obs.)

Martial law, the law administered by the military power of a government when it has superseded the civil authority in time of war, or when the civil authorities are unable to enforce the laws. It is distinguished from military law, the latter being the code of rules for the regulation of the army and navy alone, either in peace or in war.

Synonyms: Martial, Warlike. Martial refers more to war in action, its array, its attendants, etc.; as, martial music, a martial appearance, a martial array, courts-martial, etc. Warlike describes the feeling or temper which leads to war, and the adjuncts of war; as, a warlike nation, warlike indication, etc. The two words are often used without discrimination.

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Etymology of 'Martial'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Martial" Quotes from Famous Books

... iii. 7, where his recent death is mentioned. It was probably written A.D. 101, and as it states that Silius was then 75 years old, the year of his birth was A.D. 25. His birthplace is unknown, but was not Italica in Spain, otherwise Martial would have claimed him as a countryman. Pliny tells us that Silius had risen by acting as a delator under Nero, who made him consul A.D. 68. He had taken the side of Vitellius in the war of the succession A.D. 69[85] ...

— The Student's Companion to Latin Authors • George Middleton

... to his feet. A burst of martial music swept up to them as the school band, followed by a host of their fellows, turned ...

— Behind the Line • Ralph Henry Barbour

... eastern chamber of the cella, and was composed of ivory and gold. It had but one rival in the world, the Jupiter Olympus of the same famous artist. On the summit or apex of the helmet was placed a sphinx, with griffins on either side. The figure of the goddess was represented in an erect martial attitude, and clothed in a robe reaching to the feet. On the breast was a head of Medusa, wrought in ivory, and a figure of Victory about four cubits high. The goddess held a spear in her hand, and an aegis lay at her feet, while on her right, and near the spear, was a figure of a serpent, believed ...

— Christianity and Greek Philosophy • Benjamin Franklin Cocker

... was very brief and very terrible. Robert Blum had been shot to death in Vienna, according to martial law, it said. Karl read it with solemn voice, and I thought that I could see the murder taking place right there in the hall before my eyes. I suppose everybody felt just like that, for there was perfect silence—the ...

— The Marx He Knew • John Spargo

... resuming his journey. It is impressed upon the drivers that this must be done in every case, regardless of how trivial the injury may appear to be. The driver, after making out his report, will deliver it to his immediate commanding officer with the least possible delay. Court-martial proceedings must, in every case, be instituted against any driver who fails to render such a report immediately upon return to ...

— The Stars & Stripes, Vol 1, No 1, February 8, 1918, - The American Soldiers' Newspaper of World War I, 1918-1919 • American Expeditionary Forces

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