Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers.
- noun A military force that is not part of a regular army and is subject to call for service in an emergency.
- noun The whole body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Military service; warfare.
- noun Soldiery; militants collectively.
- noun Hence The whole body of men declared by law amenable to military service, without enlistment, whether armed and drilled or not.
- noun A body of men enrolled and drilled according to military law, as an armed force, but not as regular soldiers, and called out in emergency for actual service and periodically for drill and exercise.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun In the widest sense, the whole military force of a nation, including both those engaged in military service as a business, and those competent and available for such service; specifically, the body of citizens enrolled for military instruction and discipline, but not subject to be called into actual service except in emergencies.
- noun obsolete Military service; warfare.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun this sense?) An
army . - noun in particular An
army oftrained civilians , which may be anofficial reserve army, called upon in time of need, the entireable-bodied population of a state which may also be called upon, or aprivate force not undergovernment control . - noun The national
police force of certain countries (e.g. Russia, Ukraine).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the entire body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service
- noun civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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An aft to apportion At relief* by the fevered fiatutes mm in force directed to bo ghat* to the families of non-eommifioned office, drummers* fifers* and private s y ferving in the mttkia* between the county at large and the peculiar di/Mfts therein not contri - buting to the county rate* according to the number of menferv - ingfor each infuch militia 9 and to remove certain difficulties in rejpeft to the relief of families affithftituUs* hired men* or w lunteers* ferving tn the militia* — - [May 22, .1795.]
The Statutes at Large from the Magna Charta, to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great ... 1795
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The word militia meant something different back then, Noah.
The Overton Window Glenn Beck 2010
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The word militia meant something different back then, Noah.
The Overton Window Glenn Beck 2010
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The word militia meant something different back then, Noah.
The Overton Window Glenn Beck 2010
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The word militia meant something different back then, Noah.
The Overton Window Glenn Beck 2010
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The word militia meant something different back then, Noah.
The Overton Window Glenn Beck 2010
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The court also touched on the meaning of the term militia:
Friendly Fire: Gun Nuts Go Full-Auto on One of Their Own « Lean Left 2007
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But suppose I adopt the definition of the term militia insisted upon by those who differ from me.
Correspondence Between Governor Brown and the Secretary of War, Upon the Right of The Georgia Volunteers, In Confederate Service, To Elect Their Own Officers. 16 p. 1857-1865: Brown 1863
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Again he says: "The term militia is a collective term meaning a body of men organized."
Journal of the Senate of the State of Georgia, at the Annual Session of the General Assembly, Begun and Held in Milledgeville, the Seatof [sic] Government, in 1862 Georgia. General Assembly. Senate 1862
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The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens [1] to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service.
Think Progress 2009
lampbane commented on the word militia
"The 6-foot, 3-inch, 220-pound Gladiator targets his opponents with tactical precision. With an impressive arsenal of skills at his disposal, he is well equipped for any operation and will do anything to complete his objective. Once Militia has you in his sights, you'd better have a plan, or the game is over."
(Official biography on the NBC American Gladiators website)
September 6, 2008
bilby commented on the word militia
Know, then, unnumber'd Spirits round thee fly,
The light Militia of the lower sky:
These, tho' unseen, are ever on the wing,
Hang o'er the Box, and hover round the Ring.
- Alexander Pope, 'The Rape Of The Lock'.
April 28, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word militia
"The legislature required white men to drill with a militia in case of Indian attacks, and the resulting militia days offered another chance to imbibe.... Alcoholic beverages were such an intrinsic part of the militia muster that boys playing 'militia' ended their games with rounds of drinks."
—Sarah Hand Meacham, Every Home a Distillery: Alcohol, Gender, and Technology in the Colonial Chesapeake (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), 16
June 9, 2010