Samaritan

[suh-mar-i-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.

adjective

1. pertaining to Samaria or to Samaritans.

Samaritan

/ 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

adjective

1. of or relating to Samaria

Other Word Forms

• Samaritanism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Samaritan¹

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”)

Idioms and Phrases

see good Samaritan.

Example Sentences

The Grade I-listed building contains the Hogarth Stair, part of architect James Gibbs' 1730s redesign, which is surrounded by the large scale paintings The Pool of Bethesda and The Good Samaritan.

From BBC

The second was also stamped out fast, this time by a good Samaritan, according to prosecutors.

From Los Angeles Times

The controversial plans, unveiled in July, would see at least half the Samaritans branches in the UK and Ireland close.

From BBC

But the account was not run by a good Samaritan trying to draw attention to a hate crime, authorities later determined.

From Los Angeles Times

Fortunately, a Good Samaritan found the bird and brought it to a local wildlife center in Huntington Beach.

From Los Angeles Times