Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Militate

Militate , intransitive verb

[Latin militare, militatum, to be a soldier, from 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