Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Ritual suicide by disembowelment formerly practiced by Japanese samurai. Also called hara-kiri.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as hara-kiri. Seppuku, which is of Chinese origin, is considered more elegant than the purely native term hara-kiri.
Wiktionary
- n. 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.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Same as hara-kiri.
WordNet 3.0
- n. ritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society
Etymologies
- From Japanese 切腹, せっぷく (seppuku). (Wiktionary)
- Japanese : setsu, to cut (from Middle Chinese tshet) + fuku, stomach, abdomen (from Middle Chinese fuwk). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Harikari, also known as seppuku, is Japanese in origin.”
The Washington Post: The gulf oil spill and theater of the absurd
“Careful, she might get confused by that funny-sounding Japanese word and think that seppuku is what happens when you drink too much alcohol.”
“Ever hear of a lovely Japanese thing called seppuku?”
“Ancient samurai were famous for committing ritual suicide by disemboweling themselves with their swords, which was called seppuku or harakiri (two ways to read the same kanji characters).”
“Hara kiri," however, is the vulgar term for "seppuku," the ritual self-disembowelment practiced during feudal times in Japan.”
“After that tragedy, "seppuku" was forbidden, and is now an anachronism. by”
“It should be stated further that in the case of "seppuku," as soon as the act of cutting the abdomen had been completed, always by a single rapid stroke, someone from behind would, with a single blow, behead the victim.”
“The physical agony of "seppuku" was, therefore, very brief, lasting but a few seconds.”
“And not infrequently those who were condemned to commit "seppuku" were deficient in physical courage; in such cases, some friend took hold of the victim's hand and forced him to cut himself.”
“In thus describing the Japanese sentiment in regard to "seppuku," there is, however, some danger of misrepresenting it.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘seppuku’.
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franky's Words
formitastic, human resources, cocktail, gravatar, tequila, twitter, moloko, gmail, beeb, mp3, cover art, thumbnail and 184 more...
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Logodaedalus' Lexical Locutionary
Discombobulating the illiterate since the middle of the last century.
adiaphora, agitprop, alliteration, apophthegm, autarky, bête noire, bezoar, biorhythm, braggadocio, canaille, confabulate, confrère and 339 more...
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wreckingball's Words
reprehensible, problematize, crepuscular, deleterious, pestilent, strumpet, draggletail, interrobang, meretricious, systematize, schadenfreude, capricious and 443 more...
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AbraxasZugzwang's Words
atavism, abraxas, sisyphean, frust, fetus-in-fetu, arhythmically, queef, epidemiology, abecedarian, troglodyte, chiaroscuro, philology and 631 more...
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anotherfailedattempt's Words
kakistocracy, conflagration, pollyanna, equanimity, punctillious, obstreperous, ribald, belligerent, truculent, verbose, lachrymose, onanism and 278 more...
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NihonGoose's Words
colander, doily, nacre, mandible, carapace, glutinous, penumbral, skein, mollify, colloquial, sanguine, chagrin and 118 more...
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5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
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Nullologue
nullologue, vaudeville, debauchery, debauched, libertine, nothing, dhadak, tz pf, nothingology, goodbyeology, sharmuta, manifesto and 874 more...
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botello360's list
ruminate, steel, bifurcation, arrivederci, portage, tactile, ruminant, rift, anecdotage, diacritic, cud, hull and 399 more...
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spamdad's Words
lambic, weizenbock, bock, zymurgy, vade mecum, quotidian, sesquipedalian, eremite, sphragis, privation, aegis, sui generis and 275 more...
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Extinguishish
A list of managed departures.
jettison, demolition, clearance, chucking, disposal, defenestration, remove, exile, excommunicate, eradicate, banish, deport and 114 more...
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die6die's Words
somnambulist, obfuscate, hirsute, kleptobibliomania, serendipitous, dissuade, duplicitous, zounds, lo, unleash, fortnight, thaumaturgy and 278 more...
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gorgonglare's list
the best
zeppelin, ion, laconic, serendipity, cataract, saturnine, syzygy, cinnabar, bistro, lithium, paroxysm, scion and 694 more...
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lucidityprevails's Words
lucidity, journalistic, truthiness, foolhardy, egotism, lesbian, orgasmic, activism, moonglow, voodoo, conquer, demolish and 534 more...
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foreign
demitasse, apéritif, joie de vivre, sui generis, weltschmerz, weltanschauung, l'esprit de l'esc..., magnum opus, paterfamilias, idée fixe, saudade, gestalt and 62 more...
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mmalone's Words
miasma, kitsch, equipoise, pinion, harbinger, mirabilis, annus mirabilis, skein, bulwark, capricious, fortuitous, planetesimal and 233 more...
Tweets
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