samurai Hear it!

samurai definition

samu·rai (sam′ə rī′)

noun pl. samurai -·rai′

  1. in feudal Japan, a member of a military class, consisting of the retainers of the daimyos: a samurai wore two swords and lived by the code of Bushido
  2. later, used in English to designate a Japanese army officer or member of the military caste

Etymology: Jpn, var. of saburai, nominal form of sabura(h)u, to be in attendance, to serve

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.