militia

Pronunciation

• IPA: /məˈlɪʃə/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin mīlitia (“military service, warfare”),^[2][3][4] from mīles (“soldier”) (stem milit-; see military).^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A system of military discipline, a military force: 1590 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster.^[2][6][4]

Semantic evolution

Trench notes that in the 17th century, in the contests between Charles I and Parliament, the militia meant the whole military force of the nation.^[7][6] The control of the armed forces is from 1622.^[6] The sense of a citizen army, distinct from professional soldiers, is first recorded in 1696, in Phillips's dictionary, perhaps from French milice.^[2][3] In American use it was by 1777 the whole body of men liable by law to military service.^[3] Militiaman is American English from 1780.^[2]

Timeline

• 1590 – a military system or force.^[2][6]
• 1622 – control of the armed forces.^[6]
• 1696 – a citizen army.^[2]
• 1780 – militiaman.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An army of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers.
2. A military force called out only in an emergency.
3. The whole body of fit civilians eligible by law for military service.

Word family

• militiaman

Related words

• military
• militant
• militate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker