Abstract:This article considers the phenomenon of Greek loan words appearing in Germanic languages—specifically the word martyr in Old English—tracking its appearances first in Classical Greek literature then through the New Testament as a crucial theological concept that underwent a drastic semantic evolution from “witness” to “someone who dies for his or her faith.” After scanning medieval sources that feature and highlight this word, such as Isidore’s Etymologiae and the Old English Martyrology, I examine Anglo-Saxon words whose definitions recall both the martyr of Classical Greece as well as the martyr of late-antiquity. I conclude by suggesting that martyr’s early, easy assimilation into and prominence in Old English writing demonstrates a subtle linguistic strategy by which Christianity came to power in England and much of Western Europe: loan words.

中文翻译：

---

道者的证词：英格兰盎格鲁撒克逊人的Word道史

摘要：本文考虑了日耳曼语中出现的希腊借词现象-特别是古英语中的道者-先追踪其出现在古典希腊文学中，然后通过《新约》作为一个至关重要的神学概念，经历了从“ “为自己的信仰而死的人”。在浏览了具有特色并突出该词的中世纪文献之后，例如伊西多尔的《伤寒论》和古英语Mart教，我考察了盎格鲁-撒克逊人的单词，其定义既使人联想到古典希腊的烈士又包括上古时代的烈士。我的结论是，道者在古英语写作中的早期，轻松地同化和突出表现出一种微妙的语言策略，基督教在英国和西欧大部分地区都以此为政：