All 3 Uses of
martial
in
Moby Dick
- But butchers, also, and butchers of the bloodiest badge have been all Martial Commanders whom the world invariably delights to honour.†
Chpt 22-24 *
- In good time, though, to his great delight, the three salt-sea warriors would rise and depart; to his credulous, fable-mongering ears, all their martial bones jingling in them at every step, like Moorish scimetars in scabbards.†
Chpt 34-36
- The compact martial columns in which they had been hitherto rapidly and steadily swimming, were now broken up in one measureless rout; and like King Porus' elephants in the Indian battle with Alexander, they seemed going mad with consternation.†
Chpt 85-87
Definition:
relating to war or soldiers
most commonly seen in these expressions:
- "court martial" -- a military court that tries military personnel using military law (which is different than civilian law)
- "martial law" -- the body of law imposed by the military over civilian affairs which can be declared to replace ordinary civilian law in a time of crisis