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martyrology

martyrology

9.9
A list of people who died for their faith that a church keeps for services
  • noun
  • /ˌmɑːr.tɪˈrɑː.lə.dʒi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : martyrología
  • For both Eusebius and Foxe, martyrology involved much more than presenting gruesome stories that would capture the readers' attention and teach them about the heroes of their faith.

Examples

  • Other illustrations, based on engravings in a 1675 martyrology, depict the deaths of Jesuit missionaries.

    Academic text (2013)
  • I highly suggest reading the Roman Martyrology every day (it is part of the Traditional Breviary's hour of Prime).

    Blog text (22)
  • Part ecclesiastical history, part martyrology, part English chronicle, and entirely Protestant, this enormously popular work had a significant impact upon its age.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Ultimately, including martyrology as one element of these works causes the martyrs to be subsumed under the greater weight of ecclesiastical history and its documentary evidence.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The Roman martyrology includes the names and stories of many famous saints who died for their faith.

  • During the church service, the priest read from the martyrology to honor the martyrs of the faith.

  • Historians study various martyrologies to understand how different religious groups commemorate their martyrs.

How Detailed

martyrology
  • Specialized
9.9
list
1.0
note
1.0

Surface Forms

martyrology singular
martyrologies plural

Morphology

martyrology = martyr (semi-transparent) = martyr + ology

The word is built from 'martyr' + '-ology', but the resulting meaning is a specialized record or list rather than the straightforward 'study of martyrs'.

Etymology

The word martyrology comes from martyr, meaning 'someone who died for their faith', and -logy, a part that means 'a record' or 'list' as in biology. So a martyrology is a written list or record of martyrs used to remember and honor them.