martyrology

[ mahr-tuh-rol-uh-jee ]

/ ˌmɑr təˈrɒl ə dʒi /

noun, plural mar·tyr·ol·o·gies.

the branch of knowledge dealing with the lives of martyrs.

a history of martyrs.

such histories collectively.

a list of martyrs.

Nearby words

Origin of martyrology

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

Related formsmar·tyr·o·log·i·cal

[mahr-ter-uh-loj-i-kuh l] /ˌmɑr tər əˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, mar·tyr·o·log·ic, adjectivemar·tyr·ol·o·gist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for martyrology

To the prior and convent he left a great book, a 'Martyrology,' which had been composed and written for them at his expense.
Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 16|Various
In the Martyrology of the order of St. Augustine, he is said to have been the patriarch of 3000 monks.
The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 2 of 2)|George Warburton
D'Achéry published this Martyrology in his "Spicilegium," but the edition is a bad one.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 1 (of 16)|Sabine Baring-Gould
Thus, out of one set of diptychs grew the Necrologium, and out of the other the Martyrology.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 1 (of 16)|Sabine Baring-Gould

In those days even the Sorbonagres themselves were expurgating the martyrology and the legends of saints.
The Life of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 and 2 (of 2)|Anatole France

British Dictionary definitions for martyrology

martyrology

/ (ˌmɑːtəˈrɒlədʒɪ) /

noun plural -gies

an official list of martyrs

Christianity the study of the lives of the martyrs

a historical account of the lives of martyrs

Derived Formsmartyrological (ˌmɑːtərəˈlɒdʒɪkəl) or martyrologic, adjectivemartyrologist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for martyrology

martyrology

1590s, a native formation from martyr (n.) + -ology, or else from Church Latin martyrologium, from Ecclesiastical Greek martyrologicon.