ˈsam(y)əˌrī, ˈsämə-, ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ noun
( plural samurai or samurais )
Etymology: Japanese
1.
a. : a military retainer of a Japanese daimyo practicing the chivalric code of Bushido, privileged to wear two swords, and having the power of life and death over commoners
b. : the warrior aristocracy of Japan — see shizoku
2. : a professional soldier
used by the militarists to spread the idea of Japan as a nation of samurai — D.C.Buchanan