Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A samurai who is not in the service of a feudal lord.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A Japanese samurai, or two-sworded military retainer, who for any cause had renounced his clan, or who for some offense against his superior had been dismissed from service, and dispossessed of his estate, revenue, or pay; a masterless man; an outcast; an outlaw.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun In Japan, under the feudal system, a samurai who had renounced his clan or who had been discharged or ostracized and had become a wanderer without a lord; an outcast; an outlaw.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A masterless samurai.
  • noun colloquial, Japan A student who has failed the entrance examination for the high school or university of their choice and spends the next year studying to retake the exam.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Japanese rōnin, from Early Middle Chinese laŋ` ɲin, vagabond (also the source of Mandarin l`ngrén) : laŋ`, a wave, reckless, dissolute + ɲin, person.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Japanese 浪人 (rōnin).

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Examples

  • Seh Daeng has called his group the "ronin," a Japanese word for samurai warriors who have no lord or master, and credits them with grenade attacks and sniper fire that killed six soldiers on April 10 when government forces attempted to disperse Red Shirt protesters.

    TIME.com: Top Stories 2010

  • Seh Daeng has called his group the "ronin," a Japanese word for samurai warriors who have no lord or master, and credits them with grenade attacks and sniper fire that killed six soldiers on April 10 when government forces attempted to disperse Red Shirt protesters.

    TIME.com: Top Stories 2010

  • As mentioned above Jubei Ninpucho is our main character, he is a Ninja for hire, or more accurately, he is a ronin for hire; a ronin is a samurai without a master or clan.

    Epinions Recent Content for Home 2009

  • Even, the prime suspect Seh Deang has been coming out now and then to predict the sabotages and as recently, as yesterday mentioning about black-claded "ronin" warriors fighting along side the red shirts.

    Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News 2010

  • Slice of life comedy based on a comic strip manga about an 18 year old female high school graduate who moves into an apartment building that is home to numerous aimless "ronin" (high school graduates unable to get accepted into college).

    AnimeBlogger.net Antenna 2009

  • The rape and murder of a young woman and her mother by rampaging ronin precedes a spectral reign of terror, as samurai are lured to their gruesome deaths in a haunted bamboo forest.

    A Cinematic Diet Loaded With Preservatives Steve Dollar 2010

  • When the rabbit ronin Usagi Yojimbo agrees to escort a beautiful young woman to the next town, he unexpectedly involves himself in a situation that could have deadly consequences.

    Dark Horse Title Shipping in December | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News 2009

  • Surrounded by a group of angry gamblers intent on capturing a young girl protected by Usagi and Gen, the rabbit ronin and his bounty-hunting friend are running out of options in this conclusion to “The Whip”!

    Dark Horse Solicitations for May 2008 | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News 2009

  • A tale of a legendary swordsman gathering a team of ronin to kill the Shogun's ruthless brother, it appears to be Miike proving that he can direct an accessible piece of work.

    This week's new DVD & Blu-ray 2011

  • Written By hybrid delta on July 7th, 2009 @ 6: 03 pm also wasp psylocke and ronin

    Friday Top 5: Marvel characters deserving a movie 2009

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