"What does the word SAMURAI actually mean?"
Samurai (侍 or sometimes 士) is a common term for a warrior in pre-industrial Japan. A more appropriate term is bushi (武士) (lit. "war-man") which came into use during the Edo period. However, the term samurai now usually refers to warrior nobility, not, for example, ashigaru or foot soldiers. The samurai with no attachment to a clan or daimyo was called a ronin (lit. "wave-man").
By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, and they followed a set of rules that later came to be known as the bushidō. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japan's population,[2] their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.
many movies about Samurai. Among those movies, there is a movie called ''The Last Samurai'' which stars Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. This movie would help you understand what they were like. I recommend you to watch it!!
