Etymology of the French word martyr
the French word
martyrderived from the Latin word
martyr (martyr; witness; one who by his death bears witness to the truth of Christ)
using the Late Greek prefix
martur-derived from the Late Greek word
marturderived from the Greek word
martus, μάρτυς (a witness (literally (judicially) or figuratively (genitive case)); by analogy, a 'martyr')
Date
The earliest known usage of martyr in French dates from the 11th century.
Derivations in other languages
Romanian
martirCognates
English
martyr, German
Märtyrer, Italian
martire, Latin
martyr, Spanish
martir
