ronin

Meaning

1. A masterless samurai (who often becomes a mercenary to make ends meet).
2. (colloquial) A student who has failed the entrance examination for the high school or university of their choice: if the student does not wish to take the exam the following year or is unable to, the student becomes a ronin, assuming full responsibility for their own training and survival.

Synonyms

bird of passage

vagabond

lordless samurai

dero

Translations

ronin

ronin

Tramp

Ronin

Landstreicherin

Tippelbruder

vagabond

sans travail

trimardeur

ouvrier ambulant

vagabondo

leegloper

Etymology

From Japanese 浪人 (rōnin), in turn from Middle Chinese 浪人 (MC langH nyin, “dissolute, wasteful, unrestrained + person”).