Definitions for samurai
ˈsæm ʊˌraɪsamu·rai

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. samurainoun

   a Japanese warrior who was a member of the feudal military aristocracy

2. samurainoun

   feudal Japanese military aristocracy

GCIDERate this definition:3.4 / 8 votes

1. Samurain. pl. & sing.

   In the former feudal system of Japan, the class or a member of the class, of military retainers of the daimios, constituting the gentry or lesser nobility. They possessed power of life and death over the commoners, and wore two swords as their distinguishing mark. Their special rights and privileges were abolished with the fall of feudalism in 1871. They were referred to as

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. samurainoun

   In feudal Japan, a samurai was a soldier of noble birth who followed the code of bushido and served a daimyo.

2. Etymology: From 侍 (さむらい, samurai).

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Samurai

   Samurai (侍) were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in the 1870s during Meiji era. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo, the great feudal landholders. They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords and kiri-sute gomen, the right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations. They cultivated the bushido codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles. Though they had predecessors in earlier military and administrative officers, the samurai truly emerged during the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from c.1185 to 1333. They became the ruling political class, with significant power but also significant responsibility. During the 13th century, the samurai proved themselves as adept warriors against the invading Mongols. During the peaceful Edo period, 1603 to 1868, they became the stewards and chamberlains of the daimyo estates, gaining managerial experience and education. In the 1870s, samurai families comprised 5% of the population. As modern militaries emerged in the 19th century, the samurai were rendered increasingly obsolete and very expensive to maintain compared to the average conscript soldier. The Meiji Restoration ended their feudal roles, and they moved into professional and entrepreneurial roles. Their memory and weaponry remain prominent in Japanese popular culture.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. samurai

   A samurai is a member of a powerful military caste in feudal Japan, especially a member from the period of 1185 until 1868. They served the nobility and were known for their skills in martial arts, their armor, and their adherence to the Bushido code which emphasized honor, loyalty, and bravery. Primely, samurais were also known for carrying two swords as part of their outfit.

WikidataRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Samurai

   Samurai, usually referred to in Japanese as bushi or buke, were the military nobility of medieval and early-modern Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany persons in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility," the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, an early reference to the word "samurai" appears in the Kokin Wakashū, the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as bushidō. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Samurai

   sam′ōō-rī, n. sing. (also pl.) a member of the military class in the old feudal system of Japan, including both daimios, or territorial nobles, and their military retainers: a military retainer, a two-sworded man. [Jap.]

The New Hacker's DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. samurai

   A hacker who hires out for legal cracking jobs, snooping for factions in corporate political fights, lawyers pursuing privacy-rights and First Amendment cases, and other parties with legitimate reasons to need an electronic locksmith. In 1991, mainstream media reported the existence of a loose-knit culture of samurai that meets electronically on BBS systems, mostly bright teenagers with personal micros; they have modeled themselves explicitly on the historical samurai of Japan and on the “net cowboys” of William Gibson's cyberpunk novels. Those interviewed claim to adhere to a rigid ethic of loyalty to their employers and to disdain the vandalism and theft practiced by criminal crackers as beneath them and contrary to the hacker ethic; some quote Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings, a classic of historical samurai doctrine, in support of these principles. See also sneaker, Stupids, social engineering, cracker, hacker ethic, and dark-side hacker.

Matched Categories

1. • Japanese
   • Aristocracy
   • Warrior

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for samurai »

1. Masuria

How to pronounce samurai?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say samurai in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of samurai in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of samurai in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of samurai in a Sentence

1. Jason Connell:

   There are instances of, when you look through history, that there were female samurai, and even in this time period, there were these stories, so Read MoreAs players wanted to make sure that they exist, i think that was an important thing to put in to show that the world is real and they're humans.

2. Pablo Kuntz:

   I got started with a website( in 2006) selling traditional arts and crafts, from dolls to kitchen knives, i printed a catalog for U.S. armed forces in Jidai Japanese and they all went crazy for the knives. Someone said' can you get me a samurai sword ?'.

3. Chadwick Boseman:

   The legend of Yasuke is one of history's best kept secrets, the only person of non-Asian origin to become a samurai, that's not just an action movie, that's a cultural event, an exchange, and I am excited to be part of it.

4. Thomas Lockley:

   Yasuke was initially viewed as a source of entertainment as he was a novelty, but within a month he'd become a valued samurai and member of Oda's entourage, according to the sources, Nobunaga Oda just loved talking with Yasuke.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=samurai
2. ^ GCIDE
   https://gcide.gnu.org.ua/?q=samurai
3. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Samurai
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=samurai
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=samurai
8. ^ The New Hacker's Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3008/3008-h/3008-h.htm#Samurai
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=samurai