Etymology

militia

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Today it means: An army of trained civilians, which may be an official reserve army, called upon in time of need, the entire able-bodied population of a state which may also be called upon, or a private force not under government control. Full definition →

Latin mīlitia
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed frommīlitia“army, military force/service”
  2. English todaymilitia

From Latin mīlitia (“army, military force/service”), from mīles (“soldier”). Doublet of militsia. The use of "militia" rather than "police" to refer to the police force (of Belarus and some other countries) originated in the USSR.

Words from the same roots

Latinmīlitia all →

militsia

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.