hara-kiri

noun

ˌha-ri-ˈkir-ē 

ˌher-i-,

-ˈka-rē 

-ˈker-ē

variants or less commonly hari-kari

1

: ritual suicide by disembowelment practiced by the Japanese samurai or formerly decreed by a court in lieu of the death penalty

2

: suicide sense 1b

Examples of hara-kiri in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film depicts the historical ‘Honno-ji Incident’ from 1582, when a key vassal of Oda Nobunaga rose in revolt and caused his master to commit hara-kiri in Kyoto. —Mark Schilling, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Japanese harakiri, from hara belly + kiri cutting

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 1