seppuku means A form of ritual suicide by disembowelment using a blade, practiced by Japanese samurai, especially to rid oneself of shame, as a means of protest, or, formerly, as a method of capital punishment.
seppuku is pronounced /sɛˈpuː.kuː/.
Why “seppuku” is a great word
A highly formalized, ritual suicide by self-disembowelment with a short blade, historically conducted by Japanese samurai to reclaim honor, atone for failure, or enact a final protest. Borrowed from Japanese 切腹 (seppuku), from Middle Chinese 切 (t͡set, 'to cut') + 腹 (pjuwk, 'belly'). Unlike the blunt, colloquial hara-kiri or the clinical generality of suicide, seppuku is a ceremony—a theater of atonement performed before witnesses. It is the precise geometry of the kneeling posture, the cold focus required to draw the blade across the abdomen in the prescribed cuts, and the swift, merciful decapitation by a second’s sword that follows. The body itself testifies that some failures can only be answered by the most deliberate, visible, and irrecoverable of corrections.
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 切腹 (seppuku), from Middle Chinese 切 (t͡set, “to cut”) + 腹 (pjuwk, “belly”). Compare Cantonese 切腹 (cit³ fuk¹) and Mandarin 切腹 (qiēfù).
noun
- A form of ritual suicide by disembowelment using a blade, practiced by Japanese samurai, especially to rid oneself of shame, as a means of protest, or, formerly, as a method of capital punishment.e.g.“I heard that if you hit a vape and then commit seppuku by slashing out your lungs, it'll look like there's a ghost leaving your body.” — 2018 August 22, 01:28 from the start, in CS:GO SURF IN A NUTSHELL (Comedy, Gaming), spoken by RaccoonEggs, YouTube:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- junshi 66% match — In medieval Japan, the practice of vassals committing seppuku (ritual suicide) upon the death of their lord. vs seppuku →
- yubitsume 55% match — The Japanese ritual of amputating portions of one's own little finger to atone for offense, chiefly among the yakuza. vs seppuku →
- suey 55% match — Suicide (act of self-killing). vs seppuku →
- kevork 51% match — To commit suicide. vs seppuku →
- sallekhana 51% match — The religious practice of facing death voluntarily at the end of one's life, with fasting and meditation. vs seppuku →
- ubasute 50% match — A supposed former custom of Japan, whereby an infirm or elderly relative was left in some desolate place to die. vs seppuku →
- suttee 49% match — The traditional custom of a Hindu woman giving herself up to be cremated on her husband’s funeral pyre as a sign of her devotion. vs seppuku →
- prayopavesa 48% match — The act of suicide by fasting, performed by a person who no longer has any desire, ambition or responsibilities in life. vs seppuku →