Meanings
samaritan1
Samaritan2
plural Samaritans
- 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.
2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 62 - A charitable person, one who helps others (from the Bible story in Luke 10:30–37).
- UKA person who works for the Samaritans telephone helpline, taking calls from suicidal members of the public.
- not comparableOf, or relating to Samaria or Samaritans.
- The ancient language of Samaria: a dialect of Hebrew.
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewשֹׁמְרוֹנִים
- Ancient GreekΣαμαρείτης
- LatinSamarītānus
- EnglishSamaritan
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.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic سَامِرِيّ
- سَامِرِيّ (sāmiriyy)a native or inhabitant of Samaria
Catalan samarità, samarità
- samaritàa native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritàof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Chinese Cantonese 撒馬利亞人 /撒马利亚人
- 撒馬利亞人 /撒马利亚人 (saat³ maa⁵ lei⁶ aa³ jan⁴)a native or inhabitant of Samaria
Chinese Mandarin 撒馬利亞人 /撒马利亚人
- 撒馬利亞人 /撒马利亚人 (Sāmǎlìyàrén)a native or inhabitant of Samaria
Czech samaritán, samaritánka
- samaritána native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritánkaa native or inhabitant of Samaria
Danish samaritaner, samaritansk
- samaritanera native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritanskof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Dutch Samaritaan, Samaritaanse
- Samaritaana native or inhabitant of Samaria
- Samaritaansea native or inhabitant of Samaria
- Samaritaansof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Finnish samarialainen, samarialainen
- samarialainena native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samarialainenof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
French Samaritain, Samaritaine
- Samaritaina native or inhabitant of Samaria
- Samaritainea native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritainof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
- samaritaineof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
German Samariter, Samariterin
- Samaritera native or inhabitant of Samaria
- Samariterina native or inhabitant of Samaria
Hebrew שׁוֹמְרוֹנִי
- שׁוֹמְרוֹנִי (shomroní)a native or inhabitant of Samaria
Hindi सामरी, सामरी
- सामरी (sāmrī)a native or inhabitant of Samaria
- सामरी (sāmrī)of or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Italian samaritano, samaritana
- samaritanoa native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritanaa native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritanoof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Polish Samarytanin, Samarytanka
- Samarytanina native or inhabitant of Samaria
- Samarytankaa native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samarytańskiof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Portuguese samaritano, samaritano
- samaritanoa native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritanoof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Russian самаритя́нин, самаритя́нка
- самаритя́нин (samaritjánin)a native or inhabitant of Samaria
- самаритя́нка (samaritjánka)a native or inhabitant of Samaria
- самаритя́нский (samaritjánskij)of or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Spanish samaritano, samaritana
- samaritanoa native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritanaa native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samaritanoof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Swedish samarier, samarit
- samariera native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samarita native or inhabitant of Samaria
- samariskof or relating to Samaria or the Samaritans
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
samaritan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/samaritan
“samaritan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/samaritan. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “samaritan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/samaritan.
Source: samaritan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.