Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.