Etymology

bushido

B3U1S1H4I1D2O1

Today it means: An ethical code of the samurai that was prevalent in feudal Japan that advocated unquestioning loyalty to the master at all costs and obedience in all deeds, valuing honor above life. Full definition →

Middle Chinese 武士
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Middle Chinese · derived from武士“warrior”
  2. English todaybushido

Borrowed from Japanese 武(ぶ)士(し)道(どう) (bushidō), from Middle Chinese 武士 (mju^X dzri^X, “warrior”) + 道 (daw^X, “way”). Cognate with Mandarin 武士 (wǔshì) and Cantonese 武士 (mou⁵ si⁶).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.