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hara-kiri

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: harakiri and Harakiri

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Japanese 腹切り (harakiri), ultimately from (hara, belly) +‎ 切る (kiru, to cut).

Noun

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hara-kiri (uncountable)

  1. Ceremonial suicide by disembowelment, as by slicing open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practised in Japan by the samurai when disgraced or sentenced to death.
    • 1899, William George Aston, A History of Japanese Literature, page 231:
      On the downfall of his power in 1867 he was urged by one of his Council to save the honour of his family by a voluntary suicide. He flatly refused to do so and left the room, whereupon his faithful adviser retired to another part of the castle and solemnly performed the hara-kiri.
  2. Suicide or any suicidal action.
    • 2020 January 12, Drachinifel, 47:56 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 076[1], archived from the original on 26 September 2022:
      ...the report that was issued at the time officially blamed a disgruntled crewman who had been accused of theft and may have decided to do the ultimate hara-kiri, but quite how you prove that I don't know...
  3. (by extension, figuratively) An act against one's own interests.
    • 1982–1983, Paul Johnson, Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Eighties,[2] revised and printed as [] to the Nineties, HarperCollins (2001), →ISBN, page 393:
      Regarded logically, therefore, Japan’s decision to go to war made no sense. It was hara-kiri.
    • 1987, The Economist[3], volume 304, numbers 7505-7513, page 1:
      They are haunted by the spectre of the 1984 election, when Mr Walter Mondale committed hara-kiri by acknowledging the need to raise taxes if America were to get its economy straight.
    • 2008 April 5, Anurag Prasad, “Virgin Territory”, in Outlook Business, volume 3, number 7, page 50:
      But with GSM players lobbying hard for more spectrum, taking MVNOs on board now would be hara-kiri.

Synonyms

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  • (ceremonial suicide by ripping open the abdomen): seppuku

Translations

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See also

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Anagrams

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Dutch

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Noun

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hara-kiri m (plural hara-kiri's)

  1. Archaic spelling of harakiri.

French

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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hara-kiri m (plural hara-kiris)

  1. hara-kiri (suicide by ripping open the stomach)

See also

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Further reading

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Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: ha‧ra‧ki‧ri

Noun

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hara-kiri m (plural hara-kiris)

  1. Alternative spelling of haraquiri

Tagalog

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Japanese 腹切(はらき) (harakiri).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hara-kiri (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜇᜃᜒᜇᜒ)

  1. hara-kiri
    Synonym: seppuku

Further reading

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