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Ninja

2 stages from Japanese to English.

Today it means historically, a covert agent in feudal Japan; informally, someone highly skilled or stealthy
1
Stage 1 of 2
ninja
Japanese · c. 1400s-1600s
"one who endures/hides; a covert agent"
trained agents from the Iga and Koga regions skilled in stealth
2
Stage 2 of 2
ninja
English · 1960s
"a feudal Japanese covert agent"
popularized internationally through films and television
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