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

At Good Samaritan, Maia limps into the ER, cons her way into priority triage, gets stitched up, and limps back out against the doctor’s orders.

From Salon

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

From The Wall Street Journal

One of its recommendations was the government should encourage more people to take action when they see bad behaviour and consider introducing a so-called Good Samaritan law.

From BBC

"We deeply appreciate the Good Samaritan's compassion and remind all Kenyans that true coexistence means protecting wildlife," the agency said.

From BBC

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