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military

[mil-i-ter-ee]
adjective
  1. of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy: from civilian to military life.
  2. of, for, or pertaining to war: military preparedness.
  3. of or relating to soldiers.
  4. befitting, characteristic of, or noting a soldier: a military bearing.
  5. following the life of a soldier: a military career.
  6. performed by soldiers: military duty.
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noun, plural mil·i·tar·ies, mil·i·tar·y.
  1. the military,
    1. the military establishment of a nation; the armed forces.
    2. military personnel, especially commissioned officers, taken collectively: the bar, the press, and the military.
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Origin of military

1575–85; < Latin mīlitāri(s), equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles) soldier + -āris -ary
Related formsmil·i·tar·i·ly [mil-i-tair-uh-lee, mil-i-ter-uh-lee] /ˌmɪl ɪˈtɛər ə li, ˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr ə li/, adverbmil·i·tar·i·ness, nounan·ti·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivenon·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivepre·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivepro·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivepseu·do·mil·i·tar·i·ly, adverbpseu·do·mil·i·tar·y, adjectivequa·si-mil·i·tar·y, adjectivesu·per·mil·i·tar·y, adjective, nounun·mil·i·tar·i·ly, adverbun·mil·i·tar·y, adjective

Synonyms for military

3. soldierly, soldierlike, martial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for quasi-military

Historical Examples of quasi-military

  • Captain Bellfield was also at Norwich, having obtained some quasi-military employment there in the matter of drilling volunteers.

    Can You Forgive Her?

    Anthony Trollope

  • Each parish has its brass band supplied with European instruments, the musicians generally wearing a quasi-military uniform.

  • The first and second lieutenants were soon elected and a quasi-military organization was soon formed.

  • So far as the Ulstermen were concerned the ridicule of their quasi-military display and equipment never had any sting in it.

British Dictionary definitions for quasi-military

military

adjective
  1. of or relating to the armed forces (esp the army), warlike matters, etc
  2. of, characteristic of, or about soldiers
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noun plural -taries or -tary
  1. the military the armed services (esp the army)
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Derived Formsmilitarily, adverb

Word Origin for military

C16: via French from Latin mīlitāris, 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

Word Origin and History for quasi-military

military

adj.

mid-15c., from Middle French militaire (14c.), from Latin militaris "of soldiers or war, of military service, warlike," from miles (genitive militis) "soldier," of unknown origin, perhaps ultimately from Etruscan, or else meaning "one who marches in a troop," and thus connected to Sanskrit melah "assembly," Greek homilos "assembled crowd, throng." Related: Militarily. Old English had militisc, from Latin. Military-industrial complex coined 1961 in farewell speech of U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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military

n.

"soldiers generally," 1757, from military (adj.). Earlier, "a military man" (1736).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper