Thus, martial arts are skills of combat and self-defense also practiced as sport. When martial law is declared, a country's armed forces take over the functions of the police.
Martial professes to be of the school of Catullus, Pedo and Marsus. The epigram bears to this day the form impressed upon it by his unrivalled skill in wordsmithing.
/ ˈmɑr ʃəl / Add to word list of or suitable for war (Definition of martial from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
- inclined or disposed to war; warlike. 2. pertaining to or suitable for war or the armed forces: martial music. 3. characteristic of or befitting a warrior: a martial stride. mar′tial ism, n. mar′tial ist, n. n. (Marcus Valerius Martialis) A.D. 43?–104?, Roman epigrammatist, born in Spain.
SYNONYMY NOTE: martial refers to anything connected with or characteristic of war or armies, connoting esp. pomp, discipline, etc. [martial music, martial law]; warlike stresses the bellicose or aggressive nature or temperament that leads to war or results from preparations for war [a warlike nation]; military applies to anything having to do ...
martial (comparative more martial, superlative most martial) (comparable) Of, relating to, or suggestive of war; warlike.
martial, adj. & n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary
martial, adj. & n. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
Martial generally refers to anything relating to war, soldiers, or military life. It can describe skills or attitudes associated with combat and warfare. The term is derived from Mars, the Roman god of war.
Of or pertaining to war; of warlike character; military; warlike; soldierly: as, a martial equipage or appearance; martial music; a martial nation. Having reference to a state of war, or to a military organization; connected with the army and navy: opposed to civil: as, martial law; a court martial.