Where does “samurai” come from?
Samurai derives from Japanese 侍, the nominal form of Japanese 傾く meaning "to lean or be inclined," with Japanese 後 meaning "after" or "trace."
samurai (English): In feudal Japan, a soldier who served a daimyo
Definitions
- In feudal Japan, a soldier who served a daimyo
Ancestry of “samurai”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 侍 | a warrior class in medieval and pre-modern Japan;... |
| 2 | Japanese | 連用形 | an inflectional category: the continuative or... |
| 3 | Japanese | 見る | to see, to watch, to observe, to look at... |
| 4 | Japanese | 夢 | a dream; a vision; leaving reality to the state... |
| 5 | Old Japanese | 夢 | a dream |
| 6 | Japanese | 目 | an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger... |
| 7 | Middle Chinese | 目 | — |