sam·u·rai (s?m??-r??)n. pl. samurai or sam·u·rais 1. The Japanese feudal military aristocracy.2. A professional warrior belonging to this class.[Japanese, warrior, from Old Japanese samurafi : sa-, pref. of unknown meaning + morafi, to watch, frequentative of mor-, to guard.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.samurai (?sæm??ra?; ?sæmj?-) n, pl -rai1. (Historical Terms) the Japanese warrior caste that provided the administrative and fighting aristocracy from the 11th to the 19th centuries2. (Historical Terms) a member of this aristocracy[C19: from Japanese]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014sam?u?rai (?sæm ??ra?) n., pl. -rai. (in feudal Japan) 1. a member of the hereditary warrior class. 2. a retainer of a daimyo. [1720?30;