Militate \Mil"i*tate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Militated; p. pr. & vb. n. Militating.]

[L. militare, militatum, to be a soldier, fr. miles, militis, soldier.]

To make war; to fight; to contend; -- usually followed by against and with.

These are great questions, where great names militate against each other. --Burke.

The invisible powers of heaven seemed to militate on the side of the pious emperor. --Gibbon.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)