Samaritan

noun

Sa·​mar·​i·​tan sə-ˈmer-ə-tən How to pronounce Samaritan (audio)
1
: a native or inhabitant of Samaria
2
[from the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30–37] : a person who is generous in helping those in distress
samaritan adjective often capitalized

Examples of Samaritan in a Sentence

A Samaritan called a tow truck for us.
Recent Examples on the Web Debbie Rambo, executive director with the Samaritan Community Center in Springdale, said the organization works with low-income families and individuals to help people find and remain in affordable housing. Tom Sissom, Arkansas Online, 24 Aug. 2023 All Central and North Precinct officers responded to a Code 3 call to help search for the gunman who shot a security officer on the maternity ward of Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Northwest Portland. oregonlive, 23 Aug. 2023 Mendiola's family of five was stranded on their roof as debris and water rushed through Cathedral City until a good Samaritan rescued them. Carter Evans, CBS News, 22 Aug. 2023 At the other end of the Bible, Wright, having so neatly delineated the wars between the north, which was centered on Samaria, and the south, which was centered on Jerusalem, makes our encounter with the southern fable of the Good Samaritan suddenly hair-raising. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023 Some witnesses told police that the suspect was a good Samaritan who interceded when the man who was killed assaulted a woman, according to KTLA-TV. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023 Edward Graham, chief operating officer of Samaritan’s Purse, said the nondenominational evangelical Christian organization landed its cargo plane Tuesday with 17 tons of equipment. James Pollard and Thalia Beaty, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Aug. 2023 The newborn weighed 6 lbs., 9 oz. and was born at 4:01 p.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Audrey Schmidt, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2023 Read full article The driver of the F-150, a 58-year-old man who is also from Taunton, was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, officials said. Nick Stoico, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Samaritan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin samaritanus, noun & adjective, from Greek samaritēs inhabitant of Samaria, from Samaria

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Samaritan was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near Samaritan

Cite this Entry

“Samaritan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Samaritan. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.

More from Merriam-Webster on Samaritan

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!