protomartyr

American  

[proh-toh-mahr-ter] / ˈproʊ toʊˌmɑr tər /

noun

1. the first Christian martyr, Saint Stephen.

2. the first martyr in any cause.

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protomartyr British  

/ ˌprəʊtəʊˈmɑːtə /

noun

1. St Stephen as the first Christian martyr

2. the first martyr to lay down his life in any cause

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Etymology

Origin of protomartyr

1400–50; late Middle English prothomartyr < Late Latin prōtomartyr < Late Greek prōtómartys. See proto-, martyr

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

protomartyr

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

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 Thomas Cantrell Dugdale

St. Alban's was founded, as its name implies, in honor of the English protomartyr, whose bones were said to have been discovered on that interesting site, and afterwards preserved with veneration in the abbey.

From Bibliomania in the Middle Ages by Frederick Somner Merryweather

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 Edmund Burke

Certainly a church dedicated to the Christian protomartyr was not the most appropriate place for drawing up such a decree!

From History of the Rise of the Huguenots Vol. 1 by Henry Martyn Baird

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