shamisen

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

Shamisen’s story begins in Japanese: shamisen meant “a three-stringed banjo-like instrument.” Named a three-stringed plucked lute developed from an Okinawan instrument. It reached English by 1800s as shamisen. Developed from the Okinawan sanshin; used in kabuki and bunraku theatre. Today, shamisen means a traditional Japanese three-stringed plucked lute.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · 16th century shamisen "a three-stringed banjo-like instrument", named a three-stringed plucked lute developed from an Okinawan instrument.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s shamisen "a traditional three-stringed Japanese lute", developed from the Okinawan sanshin; used in kabuki and bunraku theatre.