martyrology

[mahr-tuh-rol-uh-jee]

noun

plural

martyrologies 

1. the branch of knowledge dealing with the lives of martyrs.

2. a history of martyrs.

3. such histories collectively.

4. a list of martyrs.

martyrology

/ ˌmɑːtərəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌmɑːtəˈrɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. an official list of martyrs

2. Christianity the study of the lives of the martyrs

3. a historical account of the lives of martyrs

Other Word Forms

• martyrological adjective
• martyrologic adjective
• martyrologist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of martyrology¹

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin martyrologium history of martyrs < Late Greek martyrológion. See martyr, -o-, -logy

Example Sentences

They even had a “day of the dead” in imitation of Christianity, another movement fueled by apocalyptic associations and martyrology.

From Salon

According to the 1916 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Corona saw Victor being tortured for his Christian beliefs and had a vision of two crowns falling from the sky, one for him and the other for her.

From Slate

Halberstadt took the title for his memoir from his first-grade history textbook, a graphic martyrology enumerating the bold deeds of youthful patriots whose bravery got them “hanged, shot, immolated, poisoned, left to freeze in the snow.”

From New York Times

The Law and Justice government was, he said, “vested in martyrology’’.

From The Guardian

Still, if the author’s evenhanded effort shows more respect to John Birch than to the ideological martyrology that followed, it is remarkable that he finds it necessary to note how “all of the damage done by the likes of McCarthy and Welch paled by comparison with the massive ideological witch hunts in China under Mao.”

From The New Yorker