Kamikaze - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: Kamikaze

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ka·mi·ka·ze

Audio Help [kah-mi-kah-zee] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	(during World War II) a member of a special corps in the Japanese air force charged with the suicidal mission of crashing an aircraft laden with explosives into an enemy target, esp. a warship.

2.	an airplane used for this purpose.

3.	a person or thing that behaves in a wildly reckless or destructive manner: We were nearly run down by a kamikaze on a motorcycle.

–adjective

4.	of, pertaining to, undertaken by, or characteristic of a kamikaze: a kamikaze pilot; a kamikaze attack.

[Origin: 1940–45; < Japn, equiv. to kami(y) god (earlier *kamui) + kaze wind (earlier *kanzai

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Kamikaze

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ka·mi·ka·ze Audio Help (kä'mĭ-kä'zē) Pronunciation Key
n.

A Japanese pilot trained in World War II to make a suicidal crash attack, especially upon a ship.
An airplane loaded with explosives to be piloted in a suicide attack.
Slang An extremely reckless person who seems to court death.

adj.

Of or relating to a suicidal air attack: a kamikaze mission.
Slang So reckless in behavior or actions as to be suicidal: kamikaze hot rodders.

[Japanese, divine wind (from the legendary name of a typhoon that in 1281 saved Japan by destroying the Mongol navy) : kami, divine + kaze, wind.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
kamikaze

"suicide corps," 1945, Japanese, lit. "divine wind," from kami "god, providence, divine" + kaze "wind." Originally the name given in folklore to a typhoon which saved Japan from Mongol invasion by wrecking Kublai Khan's fleet (August 1281).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

kamikaze
noun
1.	a fighter plane used for suicide missions by Japanese pilots in World War II
2.	a pilot trained and willing to cause a suicidal crash