martinet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌmɑːtɪˈnɛt/ (UK); /ˌmɑɹtnˈɛt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is named after Jean Martinet, a French army officer who died in 1672,^[2][3][4][5] lieutenant colonel of the Régiment du Roi and from 1668 inspector general of the infantry, responsible for enforcing strict drill.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The system of drill invented by Martinet (1670s).^[6][7][4]

Semantic evolution

The sense “an officer who is a stickler for discipline” is first recorded in 1779 (Merriam-Webster gives 1737),^[6][7][4][3] and it then widened to any rigid disciplinarian.^[6][2] The Century Dictionary noted that French does not use the word in this sense.^[4] The OED records several unrelated older words spelled martinet, including a bird name and a medieval siege engine.^[6]

Timeline

• 1676 – the system of drill invented by Martinet (obsolete).^[6][7]
• 1737 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^[3]
• 1779 – a strict military or naval disciplinarian.^[6][7][4]
• 1814 – attributive, almost adjectival.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A strict disciplinarian, especially a military one.
2. A person who insists on rigid adherence to rules and forms.

Word family

• martinetish
• martinetism

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins