Revised as of
20 Jan 2023
I was reading the latest in a series I adore and kept running across martial being used erroneously. It drove me mad! So I decided to explore and discovered marshal and marshall had their minor issues.
Marshal and marshall mean the same thing. The first is the American spelling while the second is the British spelling.
Please, please keep in mind that martial is all about war and is an adjective. It is not used as a verb.
“. . . in time for them to martial their forces . . .”
“. . . angry energy and the need to martial her forces . . .”
“The Emperor was not best pleased and has been martialing the full force of his concentration.”
You may want to explore the post, “Marital versus Martial” for those differences.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Marshal vs Marshall vs Martial” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Marshal | Marshall | Martial |
|---|---|---|
USMS Brief is courtesy of the US Marshal Service and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — United States Marshals are briefed for Operation Falcon 2008. |
Thurgood Marshall by Betsy Graves Reyneau (1888–1964) (Google Cultural Institute) is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Shi DeRu and Shi DeYang by Shi Deru, a.k.a. Shawn Xiangyang Liu, is under the GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 licenses, via Wikimedia Commons. — Shaolin monks engaging in martial arts. |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| American spelling
Noun; Verb, transitive Plural for the noun: marshals Third person present verb: marshals |
British spelling
Noun; Proper Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: marshalls Third person present verb: marshalls |
Adjective |
| Noun: An officer of the highest rank in the armed forces of some countries, including France
[US] A federal or municipal law officer
An official responsible for supervising public events, especially sports events or parades A higher officer of a royal household or court [UK] An official accompanying a judge on circuit to act as secretary and personal assistant Verb, intransitive: Verb, transitive:
[Heraldry] Combine coats of arms, typically to indicate marriage, descent, or the bearing of office [Legal] To fix the order of assets with respect to liability or availability for payment of obligations
|
The double-elled version is primarily British
Noun: (see marshal on the left) Proper Noun: Verbs: |
Of or appropriate to war
Characteristic of or befitting a warrior [Astronomy; initial capital letter] Of or relating to the planet Mars |
| Examples: | ||
| Noun: Joachim Murat was a Marshal of France. “The prince was, therefore, contrary to his custom, gloomy and anxious, when an officer entered and announced to Marshal de Grammont that some one wished to see him” (Dumas). Marshal Dillon was a character on Gunsmoke. Deputy marshals are fully sworn state law enforcement officers with statewide authority. Every state in the United States has a state fire marshal. Louis Zamperini was elected as the 2015 Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, but died before the event. The judge, marshal supervisor, prosecutor, and other participants develop a plan designed to anticipate the security needs during trial. The next day federal marshals brought him back to Baltimore, where he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Verb, intransitive: The professor’s facts were marshaling as research progressed. Public support could not be marshaled. Verb, transitive: He paused for a moment, as if marshaling his thoughts. She carefully marshaled her thoughts before answering the question. Both armies marshaled their forces for battle. The time frame to switch out these many local jobs and marshal the outbound train was tight and required precision work in a small yard. The usual equipment of a marshaler is a reflecting safety vest, a helmet with acoustic earmuffs, and gloves or marshaling wands — handheld illuminated beacons. Thus, when more than one different coat of arm is marshaled on a shield, through descent from heraldic heiresses, it was placed “quarterly”. |
Noun: (add an extra “l” to marshal on the left) Proper Noun: Thurgood Marshall was the first black justice appointed to the US Supreme Court. George Marshall initiated the Marshall Plan at the end of World War II. Marshall Field started the department store named for himself in 1881. Marshall McLuhan is known for “the medium is the message”. Verbs: |
She certainly has a martial bearing.
The Spartans were a martial people. “A king, whose only son was fond of martial exercises, had a dream in which he was warned that his son would be killed by a lion” (King). All three are renowned for martial prowess. The country is under martial law. Putin is a martial dictator. The high priest of Mars in Roman public religion was the Flamen Martialis. Mars, the planet, was named for Mars, the Roman god of war, giving it a martial reference. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Noun: marshalcy, marshaler, marshalling yard, marshalship, submarshal, undermarshal Verb, transitive: remarshal, remarshaled, remarshaling |
Noun: marshaller, marshalling yard Verb, transitive: remarshalled, remarshalling |
Adjective: nonmartial Adverb: martially Noun: martialism, martialist, martialness |
| History of the Word: | ||
| Middle English denoting a high-ranking officer of state is from the Old French maréschal meaning blacksmith, commander, from the late Latin mariscalcus, from Germanic elements meaning horse and servant. | Late Middle English is from the Old French or from the Latin martialis, which is from Mars. | |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Marshal vs Marshall vs Martial
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: marshal
Dumas, Alexandre. “On the Eve of Battle.” Twenty Years After. Originally published in 1845. 2020. <https://amzn.to/3heUziw>. Ebook.
The Free Dictionary: marshal, martial
“The King’s Son and the Painted Lion.” Aesop’s Fables. New York: WM.L. Allison, 1881. <https://www.litscape.com/author/Aesop/The_Kings_Son_and_the_Painted_Lion.html>.
Merriam-Webster: marshal
Oxford Dictionary: marshal
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Spirit of ’76 was uploaded by Kevin Myers and brightened by Soerfm and George Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze are both in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
