jamisen

J8A1M3I1S1E1N1

noun

An archaic stringed instrument of Japanese origin, traditionally made from snakeskin and characteristic of the Ryukyu islands; it is the ancestor of the shamisen.

OriginJapanese 蛇味線 →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounjamisen (plural jamisens)

plural jamisens · alternative jabisen

  1. obsoleteAn archaic stringed instrument of Japanese origin, traditionally made from snakeskin and characteristic of the Ryukyu islands; it is the ancestor of the shamisen.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
shamisen

Origin

  1. Japanese蛇味線
  2. Englishjamisen

Borrowed from Japanese 蛇味線 (jamisen).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

jasmine
Cite this entry
APA

jamisen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jamisen

MLA

“jamisen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jamisen. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jamisen,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jamisen.

Source: jamisen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.