samaritan means of, or relating to Samaria or Samaritans. It carries an Arena rating of 1641, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, samaritan ranks #1,498 of 13,272 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,309 of 13,272 for Most Malleable Words, #3,436 of 13,272 for Most Storied Words, #5,358 of 13,272 for Most Exacting Words.
samaritan is pronounced /səˈmæɹɪtən/.
Why “samaritan” is a great word
A charitable or helpful person, especially one who aids a stranger in immediate distress. The word's lineage runs from Latin Samarītānus, from Ancient Greek Σαμαρείτης (Samareítēs, "inhabitant of Samaria"), from Σαμαρεία (Samareía, "Samaria"), from Biblical Hebrew שֹׁמְרוֹן (Šōmərôn, "Samaria"), related to the verb שָׁמַר (shāmar, "to watch, guard"), and is attested in Old English. Unlike a "philanthropist," whose help is often grand and institutional, or an "altruist," whose motive is a principle of selflessness, a Samaritan is defined by a specific, spontaneous act of mercy. It is the motorist who stops in the rain to change a tire, the stranger who offers a coat on a cold bench, the hand extended not from duty but from a simple, uncalculated recognition of shared frailty—a brief, secular grace that momentarily guards us against the world's indifference.
Etymology
From Latin Samarītānus, from Ancient Greek Σαμαρείτης (Samareítēs), from Σαμαρεία (Samareía, “Samaria”), derived from Biblical Hebrew שֹׁמְרוֹנִים (Šōmərôním) and שֹׁמְרוֹן (Šōmərôn) respectively. Attested in Old English.
adj
- Of, or relating to Samaria or Samaritans.
name
- The ancient language of Samaria: a dialect of Hebrew.
noun
- A native, or inhabitant of Samaria; especially one practising certain ethnoreligious traditions indigenous to that region.“Many of these despised people built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim in the central Palestinian territory known as Samaria, and hence they were called Samaritans (a word of contempt to Jews); in very reduced numbers, they still live round their sacred mountain now.”
- A charitable person, one who helps others (from the Bible story in Luke 10:30–37).
- A person who works for the Samaritans telephone helpline, taking calls from suicidal members of the public.
- a Good Samaritan
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