A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1375-1596
[1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Martirdom(e, n. Also: martyr-, marter-, mertir-, mertyr-, marthirdome. [ME.martirdom, e.m.E. martyr-, marterdom(e, OE. martyrdóm.]
1. Martyrdom.Freq. to suffer or thole, also to tak martirdom.
Chiefly a. for the Christian faith.(a) a1400 Legends of the Saints ii. 531.
To bring thame to Jerusalem … Martirdome to thole thare a1400 Ib. xx. 326.
Dere Blase, cum … & crone of martirdome to thé tak a1400 Ib. xxxvii. 48.
In wil Martirdome to cume til a1400 Ib. xxxviii. 243. c1420 Wynt. v. 1268 (W).
Throu mertyrdome he slew him syne c1420 Ib. vii. 1483 (W).
He gert him thole mertirdome Off deid for haly kirkis fredome 1456 Hay I. 32/28.
Throu the … marterdome of haly marteris 1456 Ib. 131/7.
Spare nocht … to tak marterdome gif it cum till hand c1490 Porteous Noblenes 175/24. (a1570-86 Dunb.) Maitland Folio MS lxx. 94.
Jesus … Ane martirdome [Asl. As martir] sufferit for to de a1538 Abell 121 a.
Petir and Paull tholit martirdom in Rome a1578 Pitsc. II. 57/22. a1578 Ib. I. 81/29.
Mr George Wischart … quho sufferit marterdome for the faith of Christ Jessus 1596 Dalr. I. 270/20.
Inflammet with the feruent zeale of martyrdome(b) 1533 Boece v. vii. 178.
Apollyne … was crownit be marthirdome 1533 Ib. viii. xiv. 284 b.
b. For one's country. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace xi. 1342.
The lokmen than thai bur Wallace but baid On till a place his martyrdom to tak a1586 Maitland Ho. Setoun 21.
The crewell marterdome of the said Sr Christopher [by the English at Dumfries]
2. Slaughter; esp. to ma(k) (ane, gret, etc.) martirdome (on, also of, the victims). 1375 Barb. vi. 289 (E).
He sic martyrdom thar has maid That he the ford all stoppyt haid 1375 Ib. viii. 58.
Sum … Sa gret martyrdome on thaim has maid That [etc.] ?1438 Alex. i. 2076.
With deid and woundit all the place Was strouit, and it was pitie That mekill martirdome to sie ?1438 Ib. ii. 1543.
Cum thay … for to fecht Sik marterdome sall we mak, I hecht, As we made anes of Dauris men ?1438 Ib. 10356.
Sic ane marterdome ?1438 Ib. 10087. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace iii. 381.
On thair enemys gret martirdome thai maik c1475 Ib. vi. 574.
3. Protracted suffering, torment. 1456 Hay I. 159/31.
The men of were … ger the pure creaturis pay finaunce unresonable, … it is grete dolour … to … see the cruell marterdome that is done apon thame dayly c1590 Fowler I. 24/4.
That day on which my lowe first grew, Which was the first beginnar of … my longsome martyrdome
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Martirdom n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/martirdome>
