Samaritan

American  

[suh-mar-i-tn] / səˈmær ɪ tn /

noun

1. an inhabitant of Samaria.

2. good Samaritan.

3. any of the dialects of Aramaic spoken by the Samaritans in ancient Israel and until recently still spoken in Nablus.

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adjective

1. pertaining to Samaria or to Samaritans.

Samaritan British  

/ səˈmærɪtən /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Samaria

2. short for Good Samaritan

3. a member of a voluntary organization ( the Samaritans ) which offers counselling to people in despair, esp by telephone

4. the dialect of Aramaic spoken in Samaria

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adjective

1. of or relating to Samaria

Samaritan Idioms  

1. see good Samaritan.

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Other Word Forms

• Samaritanism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Samaritan

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English, from Late Latin plural adjective and noun Samarītānī “Samaritan, Samaritans” (from Greek Samarī́t(ēs) “a Samaritan,” derivative of Samáreia “Samaria”)

Example Sentences

But a little later, Laura asks to stay with this good Samaritan rather than go with the EMTs, an arrangement that clearly pleases Betty.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

The Samaritan Clinic is a small, free clinic serving people without health insurance in Albany, Georgia.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2026

He was, by all accounts, acting as a Good Samaritan, trying to break up the fight.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

One of its recommendations was the government should encourage more people to take action when they see bad behaviour and consider introducing a so-called Good Samaritan law.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

In the world of the Golden Fleece Debating Society and the Underprivileged Local Children subcommittee of the Good Samaritan Confraternity, this had created no problems.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles