Etymology Map
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Seppuku

2 stages from Japanese to English.

Today it means the formal Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment, once practiced by samurai

Where does the word "seppuku" come from? It comes from Japanese seppuku, adopted directly into English (1800s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
seppuku
Japanese · medieval
"ritual disembowelment as an honorable death"
literally 'cutting the belly', the formal samurai ritual suicide
2
Stage 2 of 2
seppuku
English · 1800s
"ritual suicide by disembowelment"
entered English through Western accounts of samurai custom
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