Samaritan
[ suh-mar-i-tn ]
/ səˈmær ɪ tn /
|
noun
an inhabitant of Samaria.
(often lowercase) one who is compassionate and helpful to a person in distress.
any of the dialects of Aramaic spoken by the Samaritans in ancient Israel and until recently still spoken in Nablus.
adjective
pertaining to Samaria or to Samaritans.
RELATED WORDS
Origin of Samaritan
Related formsSa·mar·i·tan·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for samaritan
British Dictionary definitions for samaritan
Samaritan
/ (səˈmærɪtən) /
noun
a native or inhabitant of Samaria
short for Good Samaritan
a member of a voluntary organization (the Samaritans) which offers counselling to people in despair, esp by telephone
the dialect of Aramaic spoken in Samaria
adjective
of or relating to Samaria
Derived FormsSamaritanism, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for samaritan
Samaritan
Old English, "inhabitant of Samaria," a district of Palestine, from Late Latin Samaritanus, from Greek Samareia (see Samaria). A non-Hebrew race was settled in its cities by the king of Assyria after the removal of the Israelites from the country. They later adopted some Jewish ways, but largely remained apart. Figurative use with reference to the good Samaritan is first recorded 1630s, from Luke x:33. Related: Samaritanism.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with samaritan
Samaritan
see good Samaritan.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.