MIL'ITANT, adjective [Latin militans, milito, to fight.] 1. Fighting; combating; serving as a soldier. 2. The church militant is the christian church on earth, which is supposed to be engaged in a constant warfare against its enemies; thus distinguished from the church triumphant, or in heaven.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI