seppuku
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sep·pu·ku
(sĕp′o͞o-ko͞o, sĕ-po͞o′-)n.
Ritual suicide by disembowelment formerly practiced by Japanese samurai. Also called hara-kiri.
[Japanese : setsu, to cut (from Middle Chinese tshiat; also the source of Mandarin qiè) + fuku, stomach, abdomen (from Middle Chinese fuwk; also the source of Mandarin fù).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
seppuku
(sɛˈpuːkuː)n
(Anthropology & Ethnology) another word for hara-kiri
[from Japanese, from Chinese ch'ieh to cut + fu bowels]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ha•ra-ki•ri
(ˈhɑr əˈkɪər i, ˈhær ə-, ˈhær i-)also hari-kari
n.
1. ceremonial suicide by ripping open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practiced in Japan by members of the warrior class when disgraced or sentenced to death.
2. any suicidal action; a self-destructive act: political hara-kiri.
[1855–60; < Japanese, =hara belly + kiri cut]
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Noun | 1. | seppuku - ritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society self-annihilation, self-destruction - the act of killing yourself; "it is a crime to commit suicide" |
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