LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

mīlitia

mīlitia f (genitive mīlitiae)
Classical[miːˈlɪ.ti.a]Ecclesiastical[miˈlit.t͡si.a]

Meaning

  1. military service
    huic generī mīlitum senātus eundem, quem Cannēnsibus, fīnem statuērat mīlitiae.For this class of soldier the senate had established a limit in duration to their military service, which was the same as the men at Cannae.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 26.1
  2. the military, army, soldiery
  3. warfare, war, campaign
    domī mīlitiaeque (also domī bellīque)in war and peace
  4. civil service, profession, employment
  5. figurativelymilitary spirit, courage, bravery

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

vīta mīlitāris
mīlitia -ae (f) — in Aeneis, ch. 22

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemīlitiamīlitiae
genitivemīlitiaemīlitiārum
dativemīlitiaemīlitiīs
accusativemīlitiammīlitiās
ablativemīlitiāmīlitiīs
vocativemīlitiamīlitiae
locativemīlitiae—

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

militiae vacationem habere
to be excused military duty.
militia functum, perfunctum esse
to retire from service.
militiam detrectare, subterfugere
to try to avoid military service.
militiam (only in the sing.) capessere
to take service in the army.

mīlĭtĭa, ae (-āi, Lucr. 1, 29), f. id.,
I. military service, warfare, war.
I. Lit.: in militiae disciplinam profectus est, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 10, 28: militiam subterfugere, id. Off. 3, 26, 97: ferre, Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 55: tolerare, Verg. A. 8, 516: munus militiae sustinere, Caes. B. G. 6, 18: militiae vacatio, exemption from military service, id. ib. 6, 14: militiae magna scientia, Sall. J. 63, 2: militiam discere, id. C. 7, 4: praeclara, Vell. 2, 5, 1: Pompeii, id. 2, 40, 1: adversus Graecos, Just. 20, 1, 3: lentas militias, Tib. 1, 3, 82: Cimbrica Teutonicaque, Vell. 2, 120, 1: militiae honorem, military honors, Juv. 7, 88.—
B. Esp.
1. Abl. militiā, in war, opp. togā, in peace, Juv. 10, 9.—
2. Gen. militiae, in military service, or on a campaign, in the field; freq. in phrase: domi militiaeque, at home and abroad, at home and with the army: quorum virtus fuerat domi militiaeque cognita, Cic. Tusc. 5, 19, 55; cf.: et domi et militiae, id. de Or. 3, 33, 134: militiae domique, Liv. 7, 32: militiae et domi, Ter. Ad. 3, 5, 49.—Also without domi, Cic. Leg. 3, 3, 6; Sall. J. 84, 2; Tac. H. 2, 5.—
C. Trop., of love: at confidentia militia illa militatur multo magis quam pondere, Plaut. Pers. 2, 2, 50; so of an inattentive lover: pro infrequente eum mittat militiā domum, id. Truc. 2, 1, 19.—
II. Transf.
A. Military spirit, courage, bravery: virilis militiae uxor, Flor. 4, 5.—
B. Concr., the soldiery, military (syn.: milites, exercitus, copiae): hic pars militiae, dux erat ille ducum, Ov. H. 8, 46: Romanae militiae decus, Val. Max. 1, 6, 11: cum omni militiā interficitur, Just. 32, 2, 2; Plin. 4, 14, 27, § 97: qua (lex) maxima apud eos vis cogendae militiae erat, Liv. 4, 26, 3: magister militiae, general, id. 22, 23, 2: caelestis, Vulg. Luc. 2, 13.—So trop.: militia caeli, i. e. the heavenly bodies, Vulg. Act. 7, 42; id. Deut. 17, 3.—
C. A civil service, office, profession, employment, esp. a laborious one: hanc urbanam militiam respondendi, scribendi, etc., Cic. Mur. 9, 19: haec mea militia est, Ov. F. 2, 9.—Of swallows building their nests: eaque militia illis cum anno redit semper, Plin. 10, 33, 49, § 95.—
D. Any special work of difficulty, requiring a great effort: completa est militia ejus, Vulg. Isa. 40, 2: arma militiae nostrae non carnalia, id. 2 Cor. 10, 4: bona, id. 1 Tim. 1, 18.—
E. Under the emperors (like miles), an office or employment at court, Prud. Cath. 19; Cod. Just. 3, 25.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin mīlitia From mīles (“soldier”) + -ia.

Descendants
  • Catalanmilícia
  • Englishmilitia
  • Frenchmilicefrom Middle French milice
  • Italianmilizia
  • Englishmilitsiafrom Polish milicja
  • Romanianmilițiefrom Polish milicja
  • Portuguesemilícia
  • Spanishmilicia
  • Belarusianмілі́цыя
  • Crimean Tatarmilitsioner

In English words that came into English from mīlitia

  • militiamīlitia
  • militsiamīlitia

Quick answers

What does mīlitia mean in Latin?
mīlitia, a noun, means “military service; the military, army, soldiery; warfare, war, campaign”.
What is the genitive of mīlitia?
The genitive singular is mīlitiae. mīlitia is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce mīlitia?
In classical Latin, [miːˈlɪ.ti.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [miˈlit.t͡si.a].