banzaiint.
/banˈzʌɪ/ 1. A shout or cheer used by the Japanese in greeting the emperor or in battle. Also as n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > word or cry > [interjection] > specific watchword or slogan
hep1819
hey, Rube!1882
banzai1893
Sieg Heil1940
mop1945
Jai Hind1948
we shall overcome1948
1893 E. Arnold Adzuma ii. i At the departure of the Imperial train, the citizens raise loyal cries of ‘banzai! banzai!’
1904 Daily Chron. 12 Feb. 5/5 The crowd sang national songs, and shouted ‘Banzai’ continuously.
1905 Times 7 Oct. Enthusiastic banzais were given for King Edward and the Emperor of Japan.
2.
a. attributive or as adj. = (as if) shouting ‘banzai’, uproarious, jollificatory. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > merriment > [adjective]
blitheOE
merryOE
golikc1175
lustya1225
playfulc1225
jollyc1305
merrya1350
jocund?c1380
galliardc1386
in (also on) a (merry, etc.) pinc1395
mirthfula1400
baudec1400
gayc1400
jovy1426
jocantc1440
crank1499
envoisiesa1500
as merry as a cricket1509
pleasant1530
frolic?1548
jolious1575
gleeful1586
buxom1590
gleesome1590
festival1592
laughter-loving1592
disposed1593
jucund1596
heartsomec1600
jovial1607
jovialist1610
laughsome1612
jocundary1618
gaysome1633
chirpinga1637
jovialissime1652
airy1654
festivous1654
hilarous1659
spleneticala1661
cocket1671
cranny1673
high1695
vogie1715
raffing?1719
festal1724
as merry (or lively) as a grig1728
hearty1755
tittuping1772
festive1774
fun-loving1776
mirthsome1787
Falstaffian1809
cranky1811
laughful1825
as lively as a cricket1832
hurrah1835
hilarious1838
Bacchic1865
laughterful1874
griggish1879
banzai1929
slap-you-on-the-back1932
1929 F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 7 Banzai Party, a party of naval men going ashore for a spree.
1932 R. Kipling Limits & Renewals 199 That's how it was till the Squadron returned... The banzai-parties came ashore, all hats and hosannas like a tax-payers' treat.
b. Applied to a reckless attack by Japanese servicemen.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > [adjective] > other types of attack
feigned1598
overvaulting1879
frontal1884
tip-and-run1891
hit and run1940
pre-emptive1941
banzai1945
surgical1965
kamikaze1966
1945 Coast to Coast 1944 106 Out in the glaring sky a Zero started its Banzai run.
1945 San Francisco News 13 June 1/5 Smashed desperate ‘banzai’ charges by doomed enemy survivors.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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int.1893