Samurai

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Samurai \Sa"mu*rai`\, n. pl. & sing. [Jap.]
     In the former feudal system of Japan, the class or a member
     of the class, of military retainers of the daimios,
     constituting the gentry or lesser nobility. They possessed
     power of life and death over the commoners, and wore two
     swords as their distinguishing mark. Their special rights and


     privileges were abolished with the fall of feudalism in 1871.
     They were referred to as "a cross between a knight and a
     gentleman".
     [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Shizoku \Shi*zo"ku\, n. sing. & pl. [Jap. shi-zoku, fr. Chin.
     ch' (chi) branch, posterity + tsu kindered, class.]
     The Japanese warrior gentry or middle class, formerly called
     {samurai}; also, any member of this class.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  samurai
       n 1: a Japanese warrior who was a member of the feudal military
            aristocracy
       2: feudal Japanese military aristocracy

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  samurai n. A hacker who hires out for legal cracking jobs, snooping for
     factions in corporate political fights, lawyers pursuing privacy-rights
     and First Amendment cases, and other parties with legitimate reasons to
     need an electronic locksmith. In 1991, mainstream media reported the
     existence of a loose-knit culture of samurai that meets electronically
     on BBS systems, mostly bright teenagers with personal micros; they have
     modeled themselves explicitly on the historical samurai of Japan and on
     the "net cowboys" of William Gibson's {cyberpunk} novels. Those
     interviewed claim to adhere to a rigid ethic of loyalty to their
     employers and to disdain the vandalism and theft practiced by criminal
     crackers as beneath them and contrary to the hacker ethic; some quote
     Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of Five Rings", a classic of historical samurai
     doctrine, in support of these principles. See also {sneaker}, {Stupids},
     {social engineering}, {cracker}, {hacker ethic}, and {dark-side hacker}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  samurai
       
          A hacker who hires out for legal cracking jobs, snooping for
          factions in corporate political fights, lawyers pursuing
          privacy-rights and First Amendment cases, and other parties
          with legitimate reasons to need an electronic locksmith.  In
          1991, mainstream media reported the existence of a loose-knit
          culture of samurai that meets electronically on BBS systems,
          mostly bright teenagers with personal micros; they have
          modelled themselves explicitly on the historical samurai of
          Japan and on the "net cowboys" of William Gibson's {cyberpunk}
          novels.  Those interviewed claim to adhere to a rigid ethic of
          loyalty to their employers and to disdain the vandalism and
          theft practiced by criminal crackers as beneath them and
          contrary to the hacker ethic; some quote Miyamoto Musashi's
          "Book of Five Rings", a classic of historical samurai
          doctrine, in support of these principles.
       
          See also {Stupids}, {social engineering}, {cracker}, {hacker
          ethic}, and {dark-side hacker}.
       
          [{Jargon File}]