martyr

Etymology

From Middle English martir, from Old English martyr, itself a borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin martyr, from Ancient Greek μάρτυρ (mártur), later form of μάρτυς (mártus, “witness”).

noun

1. One who willingly accepts being put to death for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after martyrdom.
   Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr.
2. (by extension) One who sacrifices their life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.
3. (with a prepositional phrase of cause) One who suffers greatly and/or constantly, even involuntarily.
   Stan is a martyr to arthritis, Chris a martyr to Stan's endless moaning about it.
   He'd been a martyr to asthma all his life. 1937, AJ Cronin, The Citadel

verb

1. (transitive) To make someone into a martyr by putting them to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.
2. (transitive) To persecute.
   Some religious and other minorities were martyred until extinction.
3. (transitive) To torment; to torture.