Etymologically
Log in

militia

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:12. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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