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

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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”)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Samaritan

But when I boarded a tram, I recognized someone: The driver was my Good Samaritan from the highway.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Rinderknecht's lawyers argued in the trial that he was a Good Samaritan who had called emergency services to report the initial fire, maintaining that the blaze had actually been sparked by fireworks.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Canty, from Maldon, won the Euromillions prize with his partner, Katie Sullivan, on 5 May 2020, days after his Good Samaritan deed.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

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

“Indeed, on several occasions, a seminary student going to give his talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan literally stepped over the victim as he hurried on his way.”

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

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