English
martyrion
Martyrion comes from Ancient Greek μαρτύριον ‘shrine of a martyr’, from μάρτυς ‘witness’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- ‘to fall into thinking, remember, care for’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)mer-1‘to fall into thinking, remember, care for’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμάρτυς2‘witness’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαρτύριον3martúrion‘shrine of a martyr’
- Englishearliest quotation 1995martyrion3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μάρτυς, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μαρτύριον
- 3 Wiktionary, English martyrion
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Irfan Shahîd: “The structure is described not as an ecclesia but…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)mer-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μάρτυς, which cites Beekes‘to fall into thinking, remember, care for’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμάρτυςWiktionary, Ancient Greek μαρτύριον‘witness’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμαρτύριονWiktionary, English martyrionmartúrion‘shrine of a martyr’
- Englishearliest quotation 1995martyrionWiktionary, English martyrion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Irfan Shahîd: “The structure is described not as an ecclesia but…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- ‘to fall into thinking, remember, care for’
memory, memorable, merit, memoir, memorandum, mourn, memorabilia, mer, mora, memoria, 15 more
Today it means
noun A church that contains relics of martyrs or marks the site of the grave of a martyr; a martyry.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “martyrion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek μάρτυς, Ancient Greek μαρτύριον. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- / martyrion