ronin

[ roh-nin ]

/ ˈroʊ nɪn /

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noun, plural ro·nin, ro·nins.Japanese History.

a samurai who no longer serves a daimyo, or feudal lord.

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Origin of ronin

From the Japanese word rōnin literally, “wave man” (understood as “a man tossed around like a wave”)

Words nearby ronin

rondure, rone, Roneo, rongeur, ronggeng, ronin, Rönne, Ronne Ice Shelf, Ronnie, ronquil, Ronsard

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ronin in a sentence

At last he saw Teampoll-Ronin from him in the distance, standing in the middle of the burying-ground.
Legends of Saints & Sinners|Douglas Hyde
And the reason she built the temple was that she might pray for the soul of the ronin whom the sight of her beauty had ruined.
The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2|Elizabeth Bisland
On the way, another ronin, who fell in love with her extraordinary beauty, was killed by Sanza.
The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2|Elizabeth Bisland
We should have the story of the Forty-seven Ronin, not a Japanese stage version, but a work from the source-material.
The Art Of The Moving Picture|Vachel Lindsay

Born about 1680 he, by birth a Samurai, became a Ronin, and entered the studio of Kiyonobu.
Chats on Japanese Prints|Arthur Davison Ficke

British Dictionary definitions for ronin

ronin

/ (ˈrəʊnɪn) /

noun Japanese history

a lordless samurai, esp one whose feudal lord had been deprived of his territory

such samurai collectively

Word Origin for ronin

Japanese

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012