hara kiri

Where does the word "hara kiri" come from? It comes from Japanese hara + kiri, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Hara kiri’s story begins in Japanese: hara + kiri meant “belly cutting.” Combining "hara" (belly) and "kiri" (cutting). It reached English by 1800s as hara-kiri. Japanese 'belly-cutting'; the formal term is 'seppuku'. Today, hara kiri means ritual suicide by disembowelment, traditionally practiced by samurai.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval hara + kiri "belly cutting", combining "hara" (belly) and "kiri" (cutting).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s hara-kiri "ritual suicide by disembowelment", Japanese 'belly-cutting'; the formal term is 'seppuku'.