Samaritan

 
Pronunciation: /səˈmarɪt(ə)n/

noun

  • 1 (usually Good Samaritan) a charitable or helpful person (with reference to Luke 10:33): suddenly, miraculously, a Good Samaritan leaned over and handed the cashier a dollar bill on my behalf
  • 2a member of a people inhabiting Samaria in biblical times, or of the modern community claiming descent from them, adhering to a form of Judaism accepting only its own ancient version of the Pentateuch as Scripture.
  • 3 [mass noun] the dialect of Aramaic formerly spoken in Samaria.
  • 4 (the Samaritans) (in the UK) an organization which counsels the suicidal and others in distress, mainly through a telephone service: I began volunteer work for the Samaritans

adjective

  • relating to Samaria or the Samaritans: Jesus’s words to the Samaritan woman

Derivatives

Samaritanism

noun

Origin:

from late Latin Samaritanus, from Greek Samareitēs, from Samareia 'Samaria'. The New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan reflects a proverbial hostility between Jews and Samaritans