Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A church or other edifice built at a site, especially a tomb, associated with a Christian martyr or saint.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A place in which the relics of martyrs are preserved, usually a crypt or underground chapel like the famous one of the church of Saint-Denis, France, which still retains much of the original Roman construction.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A tomb or other edifice erected in homage to a martyr.
  • noun rhetoric Confirming something by referring to one's own experience.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin, from Greek marturion, from martus, martur-, martyr.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin martyrium, from Ancient Greek μαρτύριον (martyrion, "testimony").

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