martinet

American  

[mahr-tn-et, mahr-tn-et] / ˌmɑr tnˈɛt, ˈmɑr tnˌɛt /

noun

1. a strict disciplinarian, especially a military one.

2. someone who stubbornly adheres to methods or rules.

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martinet British  

/ ˌmɑːtɪˈnɛt /

noun

1. a person who maintains strict discipline, esp in a military force

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Other Word Forms

• martinetish adjective
• martinetism noun

Etymology

Origin of martinet

1670–80; after General Jean Martinet (died 1672), French inventor of a system of drill

Explanation

Use the noun martinet to describe someone who is a stickler when it comes to following rules, such as the teacher who won't accept homework if it is written in a color other than blue. Pronounce martinet with the accent on the last syllable: "mar-ti-NET." Jean Martinet, the man for whom the word was coined, would insist you say his name correctly. He was a legendary drillmaster for the French army during the reign of Louis XIV. In 1779, a hundred years after Martinet's death, martinet came to mean any officer who was as strict and demanding in adhering to the rules as Martinet himself.

Example Sentences

Simmons, but his character here is no “Whiplash”-style martinet.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2021

Bedecked in a three-piece suit and gripping a baseball bat in his hands, he struck the stance of a martinet for a portrait that ran on the cover of Time magazine in 1988.

From Washington Post • Dec. 30, 2020

In comparison, Schultz comes off as less of a martinet and more of a prig in the trial transcripts.

From Slate • Oct. 15, 2020

Roberts, a flinty, fastidious martinet with a hardscrabble background and a knack for making himself indispensable to powerful men, befriended Jones and took up the cause.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 14, 2019

No martinet in the system could have put as much spit-and-polish into a surface as those robots had.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov