Meaning

noun death that is imposed because of the person's adherence of a religious faith or cause

noun any experience that causes intense suffering

originFrom Middle English martyrdome, martirdom, marterdom, from Old English martyrdōm (“martyrdom”), corresponding to martyr + -dom. Cognate with German Märtyrertum (“martyrdom”), Danish martyrdom (“martyrdom”), Swedish martyrdom (“martyrdom”), Norwegian martyrdom (“martyrdom”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0