n.
Ritual suicide by disembowelment formerly practiced by Japanese samurai. Also called hara-kiri.
[Japanese : setsu, to cut (from Middle Chinese tshet) + fuku, stomach, abdomen (from Middle Chinese fuwk).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
