Samurai
The term samurai originally meant "those who serve in close attendance to nobility", and was written with a Chinese character (or kanji) that had the same meaning. In Japanese, it was originally recorded in the Nara Period as a verb *samorapu ("to watch, to keep watch, to observe, to be on the lookout for something; to serve, to attend"), which is believed to be derived from the frequentative form (*morapu Shou rahu) of the verb moru (Shou ru, "to watch, to guard, to be on the lookout; to keep, to protect, to take care of, to be in charge of, to have as one's ward"). By the Heian period, this word had developed into the verb saburahu (saburahu, "to serve, to attend"), from which a deverbal noun saburahi (saburahi, "servant, attendant") was later derived, and this noun then yielded samurahi (samurahi) in the Edo period. In Japanese literature, there is an early reference to samurai in the Kokinshu (Gu Jin Ji , early 10th century):
When was the word 'samurahi' used?
the Edo period
By the Heian period, this word had developed into the verb saburahu (saburahu, "to serve, to attend"), from which a deverbal noun saburahi (saburahi, "servant, attendant") was later derived, and this noun then yielded samurahi (samurahi) in the Edo period.
samurahi