Protomartyr

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Protomartyr \Pro"to*mar`tyr\, n. [LL., fr. Gr. ?; ? first + ?
     martyr: cf. F. protomartyr. See {Proto-}, and {Martyr}.]
     The first martyr; the first who suffers, or is sacrificed, in
     any cause; -- applied esp. to Stephen, the first Christian
     martyr.
     [1913 Webster]