Both Uses of
martyr
in
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
- It was as if people should laugh at martyrdom.†
Chpt 4 *martyrdom = the death or suffering of someone due to upholding principles
- The postilion was a venerable "boy" of sixty—a martyr to rheumatic gout, the result of excessive exposure in youth, counter-acted by strong liquors—who had stood at inn-doors doing nothing for the whole five-and-twenty years that had elapsed since he had no longer been required to ride professionally, as if expecting the old times to come back again.†
Chpt 4martyr = someone who dies or suffers to uphold principles
Definition:
someone who dies or suffers to uphold principles -- especially someone killed for refusing to renounce their religion, or someone who commits a suicide death in the name of their religion
or:
someone who suffers a great deal
or (as a verb):
to kill someone or make them suffer in a manner that many would view as unjust
or:
someone who suffers a great deal
or (as a verb):
to kill someone or make them suffer in a manner that many would view as unjust