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

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”)

Example Sentences

The Samaritan Clinic is a small, free clinic serving people without health insurance in Albany, Georgia.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2026

He was, by all accounts, acting as a Good Samaritan, trying to break up the fight.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

"My proposal for a Good Samaritan law is exactly that," said Ms Naz.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2025

“And,” Mom says, “they finally found the good Samaritan who saved all those people in that nursing home.”

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman