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Samaritan
good Samaritan
A person who selflessly helps others, especially those in distress. Taken from a parable in the Bible in which a Samaritan man was the only person who stopped to help a man who was robbed and beaten. Brad was hailed by the newspaper as a good Samaritan after he stepped in and helped a woman who was being robbed.
a good Samaritan
someone who tries to help people who have problems
Usage notes: This phrase comes from a story in the Bible where a Samaritan man helped someone who was injured even though others would not help him.
He's such a good Samaritan. He used to go shopping for my gran when she was ill. good Samaritan
A compassionate person who unselfishly helps others, as in In this neighborhood you can't count on a good Samaritan if you get in trouble. This expression alludes to Jesus's parable about a Samaritan who rescues and cares for a stranger who had been robbed and badly hurt and had been ignored by a priest and a Levite (Luke 10:30-35). The Samaritans were considered a heretical group by other Jews, so by using a Samaritan for the parable, Jesus chose a person whom his listeners would find least likely to be worthy of concern. [c. 1600]
Common Names:
| Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
| Tristan | | [tri'stən] | |
| JindŘIch | | - | Czech |
| Willy | | WIL-ee (English), VI-lee (German), WIL-lee (Dutch), VIL-lee (Dutch) | English, German, Dutch |
| Sibylla | | zi-BUY-lah (German) | Greek, German, Swedish, Late Roman, Late Greek |
| Aminah (2) | | - | Arabic |
| Basant | | - | Indian, Hindi |