Etymologically
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military

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈmɪl.ɪ.tri/, US /ˈmɪl.ə.ter.i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English militari, borrowed from Latin mīlitāris (“of soldiers or war, warlike”),[2][3][4] partly through Old French militaire,[2][5][6] from mīles (“soldier”) (genitive mīlitis),[2][3][4] a word of unknown origin,[2] perhaps from Etruscan.[3][2] Klein explains mīlitāris as dissimilated from *mīlitālis.[7] It is related to militia, militant and militate.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or pertaining to soldiers: 1460[3] or the mid-15th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

The OED's first example of “used, performed or brought about by soldiers” is from 1585,[9] of a person engaged in a soldier's life from 1597,[9] and of things adapted to or connected with the army from 1590.[9] Military academy is from 1776.[9] The noun meant a military man from 1736,[3][2] or 1709 according to Merriam-Webster,[10] and soldiers in general, usually as the military, from 1757.[3][2][9] Militarism is from 1864, after French militarisme.[3] Military-industrial is from 1961.[9]

Timeline

  • 1460 – of soldiers.[3]
  • 1585 – performed by soldiers.[9]
  • 1736 – noun, a military man.[3]
  • 1757 – the military, soldiers.[3][2]
  • 1776 – military academy.[9]
  • 1864 – militarism.[3]
  • 1961 – military-industrial.[9]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or characteristic of the armed forces or soldiers.
  2. Performed or supported by the armed forces.
  3. Of or relating to war.
  4. Of land forces, as distinct from naval.

Noun

  1. (the military) The armed forces, or their members, especially officers.

Word family

  • militarily
  • militariness
  • militia
  • militant
  • militarism
  • militate
  • paramilitary

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster