martinet English · revision 2423

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌmɑːtɪˈnɛt/ ''(UK)''; /ˌmɑɹtnˈɛt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is named after Jean Martinet, a French army officer who died in 1672,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) lieutenant colonel of the Régiment du Roi and from 1668 inspector general of the infantry, responsible for enforcing strict drill.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The system of drill invented by Martinet (1670s).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “an officer who is a stickler for discipline” is first recorded in 1779 (Merriam-Webster gives 1737),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and it then widened to any rigid disciplinarian.^(OED 1989)^(AHD) The Century Dictionary noted that French does not use the word in this sense.^(Etymonline) The OED records several unrelated older words spelled ''martinet'', including a bird name and a medieval siege engine.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1676 – the system of drill invented by Martinet (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1737 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1779 – a strict military or naval disciplinarian.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1814 – attributive, almost adjectival.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A strict disciplinarian, especially a military one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person who insists on rigid adherence to rules and forms.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[martinetish]]

+ * [[martinetism]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}