The rise and empowerment of the samurai class in Japan may be seen in the two terms used to refer to its members, samurai and bushi. The word samurai comes from the Japanese verb saburau, which means “to serve as an attendant.” The word bushi is Sino-Japanese and means “armed gentry.” The word samurai was used by other social classes, while the warriors referred to themselves by the more dignified term bushi.
