n.
  - a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.
 - a person who displays or exaggerates their suffering or discomfort in order to obtain sympathy or admiration.
 
v.
 kill as a martyr; make a martyr of.
 
  Derivative
  
    - martyrdom n.
  - martyrize
 or martyrise v. 
   
  Etymology
  OE martir, via eccles. L. from Gk martur ‘witness’ (in Christian use, ‘martyr’).