Good Samaritan

English

Etymology

From Luke 10:30-37, in which a Samaritan helped a half-dead Jewish man ignored by others.

Proper noun

the Good Samaritan

1. (biblical) The subject of a particular New Testament parable, who helps a wounded man ignored by others.

Noun

Good Samaritan (plural Good Samaritans)

1. (figurative, idiomatic) A person who helps someone in distress out of their own good nature.
   • 1941 February 17, Henry Luce, “The American Century”, in LIFE, page 65:

     America as the dynamic center of ever-widening spheres of enterprise, America as the training center of the skillfull servants of mankind, America as the Good Samaritan, really believing again that it is more blessed to give than to receive, […]

   • 2022, Keith Bryant, Bluefire - Fight Back or Perish:

     Respirited for the moment, he hopped down from the wagon and attempted to pay the good Samaritan for the ride.

Derived terms

• Good Samaritan law

Translations

subject of the parable

• Armenian: բարի սամարացի (hy) (bari samaracʻi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 好撒玛利亚人 (hǎo sāmǎlìyǎrén)

• Danish: barmhjertige samaritaner c
• Dutch: Barmhartige Samaritaan, Barmhartige Samaritaan
• Esperanto: bona samariano
• Finnish: laupias samarialainen
• French: Bon Samaritain (fr) m
• Georgian: კეთილი სამარიტელი (ḳetili samariṭeli)
• German: barmherziger Samariter m
• Haitian Creole: Bon Samariten
• Hebrew: הַשּׁוֹמְרוֹנִי הַטּוֹב m (hashomronì hatóv)
• Icelandic: miskunnsami Samverjinn m
• Irish: Samárach Maith m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: den barmhjertige samaritan

  Nynorsk: den miskunnsame samaritanen

• Polish: Dobry Samarytanin
• Portuguese: bom samaritano m
• Russian: до́брый самаритя́нин m (dóbryj samaritjánin)
• Sicilian: bonu samaritanu m
• Spanish: Buen Samaritano m
• Swedish: (in older translations) den barmhärtige samariten c, (in newer translations) den barmhärtige samariern c
• Thai: ชาวสะมาเรียผู้ใจดี

kind person

• Armenian: բարի սամարացի (hy) (bari samaracʻi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 善良的人

• Esperanto: bona samariano
• Finnish: laupias samarialainen
• French: Bon Samaritain (fr) m
• Georgian: კეთილი სამარიტელი (ḳetili samariṭeli)
• Icelandic: fórnfús, hjálpsamur
• Japanese: 憐れみ深い人 (あわれみふかいじん, awaremi fukai-jin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: barmhjertig samaritan

• Polish: Dobry Samarytanin m
• Portuguese: bom samaritano m
• Russian: до́брый самаритя́нин m (dóbryj samaritjánin)
• Sicilian: bon'arma f
• Spanish: buen samaritano m
• Swedish: barmhärtig samarit c
• Thai: พลเมืองดี

Further reading

• parable of the Good Samaritan on Wikipedia.Wikipedia