ronin

American  

[roh-nin] / ˈroʊ nɪn /

Or rōnin

noun

Japanese History.

plural

ronin, ronins

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

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ronin British  

/ ˈrəʊnɪn /

noun

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

2. such samurai collectively

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Etymology

Origin of ronin

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

Example Sentences

After stealing a letter containing secret information early in the game, the player’s ronin, or masterless samurai, must decide which faction most deserves it.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2024

Like Japanese ronin, Howard’s warrior protagonists possess both iron self-control and an innate fatalism.

From Washington Post • Jun. 9, 2021

Thomas created the series while living and working in Japan, an experience that one guesses informs the way Nick Jones Jr. writes this ronin and certainly permeates Stanfield's portrayal.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2021

Here’s the basic synopsis from Netflix: In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence.

From The Verge • Apr. 1, 2021

On their way to Kyoto they met another ronin, whose real name I have not been able to learn.

From Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan First Series by Hearn, Lafcadio