释义 |
▪ I. militia|mɪˈlɪʃə| Also 6 milicia, 7 melitia, mal(l)itia. [a. L. mīlitia, f. mīlit-, mīles soldier. Cf. F. milice.] †1. a. A system of military discipline, organization, and tactics; manner of conducting warfare; the arts of war. Obs.
1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons Ded. 3 Diuers Nations that haue had notable Milicias and exercises Militarie in great perfection. 1598Barret Theor. Warres iii. i. 32 The true and orderly trayning of your people in this our Moderne Militia. 1605Raleigh Introd. Hist. Eng. (1693) 23 The Normans had a peculiar Militia, or Fight, with Bowes and Arrowes. 1636Massinger Bashf. Lover v. i, Pisa. Where's your Regiment? Mart. Not rais'd yet; All the old ones are cashier'd, and we are now To have a new Militia. 1646J. Hall Horæ Vac. 162 The modern Militia differs much from the ancient, there being in it more roome for stratagems then personall valour. 1651Hobbes Govt. & Soc. xiii. §14. 203 The Militia, was of old reckoned in the number of the gaining Arts. 1658Earl of Monmouth tr. Paruta's Wars Cyprus 121 The enemy were still the same, weak, and unexperienced in the true Militia. fig.a1678Marvell Appleton Ho. 330 Unhappy! shall we never more That sweet Militia restore, When Gardens only had their Towers, And all the Garrisons were Flowers. †b. Military service; warfare. Obs.
a1635Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 48 He first exposed himself to the Land service of Ireland, a Militia which then did not yeeld him food and rayment. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. ii. lxi. (1674) 213 They ended their unfortunate Militia with the Romans. 1682Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. i. §18 Raise timely batteries against those strongholds built upon the rock of nature; and make this a great part of the militia of thy life. 1684Contempl. St. Man i. vi. (1699) 66 He entred us into this Milita [sic] and Warfare. 1685Baxter Paraphr. N.T. (1701) 1 Thess. ii. 15–16 Because this Preaching is the Means to save Souls, it is that Satan aimeth his Militia against it. †c. Weapons; instruments of war. Obs.
1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. ii. vi. (1674) 144 [Princes] should wear the powerful Militia of boundless Empire..by their side, for the security of such as are good, but..should never make use of it..[to shield] such as were guilty. 1656Blount Glossogr., Militia, Warfare, or all implements of War. 1694Westmacott Script. Herb. (1695) 25 Box-Combs, which..bear no small part in the Militia of the Female Art. †2. The control and administration of the military and naval forces of a country. Obs.
1622Bacon Holy War Misc. Wks. (1629) 129 Now let me put a Feigned Case..of a Land of Amazons, where the whole Gouernment, Publike and Priuate, yea the Militia it Selfe, was in the hands of Women. 1641Verney Notes Long Parl. (Camden) 132, [7 Dec.] Sir Arthur Hazelrigg did bring in a bill to dispose all the militia of England into two generalls for life. 1641in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 525, I do heartily wish that this Great Word, this New Word, the Militia, this Harsh Word might never have come within these Walls;..I take the meaning of those Gentlemen, who introduced this Word to be, the power of the Sword,..which is a great and necessary power, and properly belonging to the Magistrate. 1641–2Jrnls. Ho. Comm. 20 Jan. II. 389 They humbly beseech Your Sacred Majesty to raise up unto them a sure Ground of Safety..by putting the Tower, and other principal Forts of the Kingdom, and the whole Militia thereof, into the Hands of such Persons as Your Parliament may confide in. 1643in Clarendon Hist. Reb. vii. §166 That the militia, both by sea and land, might be settled by a bill. 1647May Hist. Parl. ii. v. 94 He was esteemed by the Parliament (in this important businesse of setling their Militia by Land and Sea) the fittest man to take Command of the Navie. 3. a. A military force, esp. the body of soldiers in the service of a sovereign or a state; in later use employed in more restricted sense (= F. milice), to denote a ‘citizen army’ as distinguished from a body of mercenaries or professional soldiers.
1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons Ded. 3 Any forraine Nation or Nations, that haue had a puissant and formed Milicia. 1625Bacon Ess., Greatn. Kingd. (Arb.) 475 Let any Prince or State thinke soberly of his Forces, except his Militia of Natiues be of good and Valiant Soldiers. Ibid. 481 [The Spaniards are accustomed] To employ, almost indifferently, all Nations, in their Militia of ordinary Soldiers. 1665Surv. Aff. Netherl. 93 The High and Mighty draw in their Money,..raise Fortifications,..Rendezvouz Militiaes, and withdraw 200 Families at least to Hamburgh. 1672Petty Pol. Anat. (1691) 42 There be in Ireland, as elsewhere, two Militias; one are the Justices of Peace, their Militia of High and Petty Constables; also the Sheriffs Militia of his Servants and Bailiffs, and Posse Comitatus... There is also a Protestant Militia, of about 24000 Men. 1696Phillips, Militia, the People and Inhabitants of a Kingdom trained up in War for the Defence of it. 1706― (ed. Kersey), Militia, a certain Number of the Inhabitants of the City and Country formed into Regular Bodies, and train'd up in the Art of War, for the Defence and Security of the Kingdom. 1776Adam Smith W.N. v. i. (1869) II. 281 It [the state] may..oblige either all the citizens of the military age, or a certain number of them to join in some measure the trade of a soldier to whatever other trade or profession they may happen to carry on. Its military force is (then) said to consist in a militia. 1844Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xx. (1862) 383 A good militia, that is, a certain portion of the people called out in turn to learn the use of arms. 1865Merivale Rom. Emp. VIII. lxvii. 311 A genuine militia, chosen from the citizens themselves. †b. A particular species of warlike force; a branch or department of the establishment maintained for purposes of war. Obs.
1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. v. §36 They had their eye upon another militia, the royal navy. 1654H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 19 Mighty preparation was made..for the reinforcing of Navall strength. Nor was the Land-Militia left unregarded. c. transf. and fig.
1599Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 157 Fourty hundred sure Catholikes in England alone, with foure hundred English Romane Priests to mainetaine that Militia. 1630B. Jonson New Inn Argt. Act ii, The Fly of the Inne is discouer'd.., with the Militia of the house, below the stayres, in the Drawer, Tapster, Chamberlaine, and Hostler, inferiour officers. Ibid. ii. iv, He has form'd a fine militia for the Inne too. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock i. 42 Know then, unnumber'd Spirits round thee fly, The light Militia of the lower sky. 1821Scott Kenilw. xix, Out tumbled Will Hostler, John Tapster, and all the militia of the inn. 1838Prescott Ferd. & Is. (1846) I. Introd. 38 The mendicant orders..that spiritual militia of the popes. 4. spec. a. Orig., the distinctive name of a branch of the British military service, forming, together with the volunteers, what are known as ‘the auxiliary forces’ as distinguished from the regular army. In later use, spec. as part of the British armed forces assembled in 1939. Also, a similar force raised in British North America. (Construed either as sing. or pl.) The militia consisted of bodies raised by the several counties in numbers varying according to the population and other circumstances, the number or ‘quota’ to be provided by each shire being fixed by the government. From 1803, the law was that the quota might, if necessary, be raised by compulsory enlistment, a ballot being taken among the men between 18 and 35; but as sufficient numbers were latterly obtainable by voluntary enlistment, a ‘Militia Ballot Suspension Act’ was passed annually. The militia were bound to assemble for 28 days in every year for training, and might at any time be embodied for compulsory service within the kingdom, but could not be sent abroad except as volunteers, and then only by consent of Parliament.
1659–60Pepys Diary 29 Feb., We found..the militia of the red regiment in arms. Ibid. 2 Mar., I hear the City militia is put into good posture. 1699in Archives of Maryland (1902) XXII. 562 An Act for the Ordering and Regulating the Militia of this Province for the better Defence & Security thereof. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 187 They..fired..very regularly, considering them as militia only. 1755Johnson, Militia, the trainbands. 1759H. Walpole Let. to Mann 16 Nov., I am one of the few men in England who am neither in the army or militia. 1761Churchill Rosciad Poems 1763 I. 30 Like Westminster militia train'd to fight. 1763Brit. Mag. IV. 50 The following aldermen took the oaths to qualify them for colonels of the six regiments of the city militia, viz... Beckford,..col. of the white regiment... Ladbroke, col. of the blue... Rawlinson, col. of the red... Glyn, col. of the orange... Blackiston, col. of the green... Fludyer, col. of the yellow. 1903Westm. Gaz. 7 July 12/2 The attempt..was opposed..on the ground that the Militia must in future be ‘more soldierly’. 1939War Illustr. 16 Dec. 427/3 We have taken, besides the Militia classes which have been called up, over 85,000 voluntary recruits since the war began. b. U.S. ‘The whole body of men declared by law amenable to military service, without enlistment, whether armed and drilled or not’ (Cent. Dict. 1890).
1777W. Heath in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 329 Our troops are all militia, and, although perhaps as good as any militia, yet they are not disciplined. 1789Constit. U.S. i. §8 Congress shall have power..to provide for calling forth the militia. 1865H. Phillips Amer. Paper Curr. II. 85 Militia were kept constantly guarding the Schuylkill. 1899Westm. Gaz. 14 Mar. 2/3 The naval militia in the recent war between the United States and Spain. 5. attrib., as militia act, militia army, militia bill, militia carpenter, militia commission, militia force, militia guard, militia officer, militia regiment, militia service; militia reserve (see quot. 1876).
1882Act 45 & 46 Vict. c. 49 §1 This Act may be cited as the *Militia Act, 1882.
1813Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) XI. 140, I should very much doubt that a large *militia army would be very useful in the field.
1902Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 226/1 Voluntary enlistment under the new *Militia Bill [of 1852] was to be the rule.
1756Washington Writ. (1889) I. 356 Forty pounds of tobacco per day, which is provided by act of Assembly for *militia carpenters.
1844Regul. & Ord. Army 4 Their *Militia Commissions.
1802Act 42 Geo. III, c. 72 §29 Any Act made..concerning the *Militia Forces of England.
1726Swift Gulliver ii. iv, A *militia guard of five hundred horse.
1775Sheridan St. Patr. Day i. ii, I hate *militia officers; a set of dunghill cocks with spurs on.
1655Clarke Papers (Camden) III. 23 The citty have named Alderman Underwood, Alderman Tichborne, and ― to bee 3 of theire Collonells to comand theire *Militia regiments.
1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict., *Militia Reserve, a force created by the act of 1867; its numbers not to exceed one-fourth of militia quota; the men to be enlisted for five years, during which time they remain on the strength of militia regiments, but are liable to be drafted into the army in time of war.
1818Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXIII. 83, I mean the *Militia Service and other compulsory military and naval service. ▪ II. † miˈlitia, v. Obs. [f. prec.] trans. ? To call out as militia.
1724Warburton Misc. Transl. 106 Their Country's Cause provokes to Arms The active Pigmy Troops militia'd out, In fronted Brigades. |