# Samaritan

> English word · Noun · IPA /səˈmæɹɪtən/ · frequency rank #23,981

## Definitions
1. A native, or inhabitant of Samaria; especially one practising certain ethnoreligious traditions indigenous to that region.
2. A charitable person, one who helps others (from the Bible story in Luke 10:30–37).
3. A person who works for the Samaritans telephone helpline, taking calls from suicidal members of the public.

## Etymology
From Latin Samarītānus, from Ancient Greek Σαμαρείτης (Samareítēs), from Σαμαρεία (Samareía, “Samaria”), derived from Biblical Hebrew שֹׁמְרוֹנִים (Šōmərôním) and שֹׁמְרוֹן (Šōmərôn) respectively. Attested in Old English.

## Easily confused with
- **Samaria** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samaria-vs-samaritan)

## Common misspellings (13)
`asmaritan`, `saamritan`, `samairtan`, `samariatn`, `samaritann`, `samaritna`, `samarittan`, `samarritan`, `samartian`, `sammaritan`, `samraitan`, `smaaritan`, `ssamaritan`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/samaritan