samisen
[sam-uh-sen]
- a guitarlike Japanese musical instrument having an extremely long neck and three strings, played with a plectrum.
Show More
Origin of samisen
1610–20; < Japanese < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese sānxia three-string banjo
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for samisen
Historical Examples
One took her samisen and sang; never did I listen to anything sweeter.
Lafcadio HearnNina H. Kennard
And you could not play the samisen because I was in your arms.
The Way of the GodsJohn Luther Long
The street of the geisha is full of music, for they play the samisen there all day long.
Japanese Fairy TalesGrace James
She played the samisen, the kotto, the biwa, and the small hand-drum.
Japanese Fairy TalesGrace James
Sawaichi was a honest, good-natured fellow, who earned a bare living by giving lessons on the koto and samisen.
Romances of Old JapanYei Theodora Ozaki
samisen
- a variant of shamisen
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for samisen
n.
Japanese three-stringed instrument, 1610s, from Chinese san-hsien, literally "three-strings," from san "three" + hsien "string."
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper