Nisei

Ni·sei

[nee-sey, nee-sey]
noun, plural Ni·sei.
a person of Japanese descent, born and educated in the U.S. or Canada.
Also, ni·sei.
Compare Issei, Kibei, Sansei.


Origin:
1940–45, Americanism; < Japanese: literally, second generation; earlier ni-seĩ < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese èr two, second + shēng birth

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Nisei
Collins
World English Dictionary
Nisei (ˈniːseɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a native-born citizen of the United States or Canada whose parents were Japanese immigrants
 
[Japanese, literally: second generation]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Nisei is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

nisei
"American born of Japanese parents," 1943, from Jap. ni- "second" + sei "generation."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
Nisei [(nee-say, nee-say)]

Persons whose parents were born in Japan but who were themselves born outside Japan. Many Nisei were moved by force in the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT