militia

[ mi-lish-uh ]

/ mɪˈlɪʃ ə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR militia ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a body of citizens enrolled for military service, and called out periodically for drill but serving full time only in emergencies.

a body of citizen soldiers as distinguished from professional soldiers.

all able-bodied males considered by law eligible for military service.

a body of citizens organized in a paramilitary group and typically regarding themselves as defenders of individual rights against the presumed interference of the federal government.

RELATED WORDS

commandos, military, force

Nearby words

military school, military science, military-industrial complex, militate, milites gloriosi, militia, militia movement of the 1990s, militiaman, milium, milk, milk bank

Origin of militia

1580–90; < Latin mīlitia soldiery, equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles) soldier + -ia -ia

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

Examples from the Web for militia

Spending millions on speech is more like raising your own militia.
Undo Citizens United? We’d Only Scratch the Surface|Jedediah Purdy|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Islamist brigades including Suqur al-Sham, a 9,000-strong militia, are openly breaking with Western-favored rebel factions.
Spies Warned White House: Don’t Hit Al Qaeda in Syria|Shane Harris, Jamie Dettmer|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From the militia perspective, the Shia factions in Iraq break down as follows.
The New Iraq War Could Be Won or Lost This Month by Baghdad Politics|Bartle Bull|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But there is a middle way from clean-cut hunkdom to looking like a militia leader who might boil a hitchhiker alive.
Leo, the Beard Has to Go: When a Man’s Facial Hair Reaches Crisis Point|Tim Teeman|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“They are army, not militia,” the sheik repeated throughout our conversation.
The Brewing Battle for Baghdad|Jacob Siegel|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All through this he's been walking up and down the floor like he was drilling for the militia.
J. Poindexter, Colored|Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb
Either the militia must be called out or volunteers must be summoned for the purpose.
The History of the Confederate War, Its Causes and Its Conduct, Volume I (of 2)|George Cary Eggleston
Equally abortive, as might have been anticipated, was the scheme for raising a militia of 50,000 men.
Herzegovina|George Arbuthnot
They've got up a militia battalion for them now, and 'most everybody in town's got a uniform.
Captain Jinks, Hero|Ernest Crosby
Organized on April 22, 1776, they applied to the General Court to make them independent of the militia but not of the regiment.
Historic Homes|Mary H. Northend

British Dictionary definitions for militia

militia

/ (mɪˈlɪʃə) /

noun

a body of citizen (as opposed to professional) soldiers

an organization containing men enlisted for service in emergency only

Word Origin for militia

C16: from Latin: soldiery, from mīles soldier

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

militia

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of militia

Examples from the Web for militia

British Dictionary definitions for militia

militia

noun

Word Origin for militia