samaritan

noun

1. an inhabitant of Samaria.
2. good Samaritan.
3. (often lowercase) one who is compassionate and helpful to a person in distress.
4. any of the dialects of Aramaic spoken by the Samaritans in ancient Israel and until recently still spoken in Nablus.

adjective

5. pertaining to Samaria or to Samaritans.

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Samaria
2. short for Good Samaritan
3. a member of a voluntary organization (the Samaritans) which offers counselling to people in despair, esp by telephone
4. the dialect of Aramaic spoken in Samaria

adjective

5. of or relating to Samaria

n.Old English, “inhabitant of Samaria,” a district of Palestine, from Late Latin Samaritanus, from Greek Samareia (see Samaria). A non-Hebrew race was settled in its cities by the king of Assyria after the removal of the Israelites from the country. They later adopted some Jewish ways, but largely remained apart. Figurative use with reference to the good Samaritan is first recorded 1630s, from Luke x:33. Related: Samaritanism. see good Samaritan.