bushido

Where does the word "bushido" come from? It comes from Japanese bushido, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Bushido’s story begins in Japanese: bushido meant “the way of the warrior.” Literally the way of the warrior, the samurai code of honor. It reached English by 1900s as bushido. Nitobe Inazō's 1899 book 'Bushido: The Soul of Japan', written in English, introduced the word to Western readers. Today, bushido means the traditional code of honor and morality of the Japanese samurai.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval bushido "the way of the warrior", literally the way of the warrior, the samurai code of honor.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s bushido "the traditional samurai code of honor", Nitobe Inazō's 1899 book 'Bushido: The Soul of Japan', written in English, introduced the word to Western readers.