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
Let us commemorate, my friends, at this last hour, a great if all unwitting benefactor, the protomartyr of our cause.
From The Last Generation A Story of the Future by Flecker, James Elroy
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
The protomartyr of the Christian age evinced a wise anxiety when he exclaimed in his dying moments, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
From Female Scripture Biographies, Volume I by Cox, Francis Augustus
There seems, however, to be some doubt whether this venerable protomartyr of philosophy was inclined to carry his own declaration of the rights of men more rigidly into practice than the National Assembly themselves.
From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 04 (of 12) by Burke, Edmund
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.
