seppuku

American  

[se-poo-koo] / sɛˈpu kʊ /

noun

1. hara-kiri.

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seppuku British  

/ sɛˈpuːkuː /

noun

1. another word for hara-kiri

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Etymology

Origin of seppuku

First recorded in 1900–05; from Japanese, earlier s(y)et-puku, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese qiè “cut” + fù “belly”

Example Sentences

So, I commit first-date seppuku and tell him about my lens and my vision loss.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2024

“I loved it. But it’d be committing theatrical seppuku to transfer it,” a theater critic mutters to another at the show’s after party.

From New York Times • Aug. 19, 2021

Cicadas have a much higher-stakes conundrum when it comes to their sort of reproductive seppuku: they die shortly after mating, offering themselves up in order to ensure the continuation of the next generation.

From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2021

It sounds as if she would gladly commit seppuku, if only that didn’t require the sin of cultural appropriation: “I am wholly sorry for the pain and anger I caused you,” she wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 21, 2016

In thus describing the Japanese sentiment in regard to "seppuku," there is, however, some danger of misrepresenting it.

From Evolution Of The Japanese, Social And Psychic by Gulick, Sidney Lewis