protomartyr
Americannoun
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the first Christian martyr, Saint Stephen.
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the first martyr in any cause.
noun
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St Stephen as the first Christian martyr
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the first martyr to lay down his life in any cause
Etymology
Origin of protomartyr
1400–50; late Middle English prothomartyr < Late Latin prōtomartyr < Late Greek prōtómartys. See proto-, martyr
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The largest relic in England of the protomartyr is his thigh, preserved at St Michael's Benedictine Abbey, in Farnborough, Hampshire.
From BBC ● May 28, 2016
Another great name from the Acts of the Apostles is that of the protomartyr Stephen, among the numerous derivatives of which we must include Stennett and Stimpson.
From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest
In 795, Offa, king of Mercia, erected an abbey here, in memory of St. Alban, the British protomartyr, who was born here in the third century.
From Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set. by Dugdale, Thomas Cantrell
The body of this venerable virgin and bride of Christ was buried in the church of the blessed protomartyr, Stephen.
From Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by Bede, Cuthbert
No historical pilgrimage to Paris would be complete without a visit to the Sanctuary of its protomartyr and the burial-place of its kings.
From The Story of Paris by Kimball, Katherine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
