Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗One trained in ninjutsu, especially one used for espionage, assassination, and other tasks requiring stealth during Japan's shogunate period. · One who very skillful, considered similar to the historical ninja, especially in covert or stealthy operation. · A notional draconian arm of a corporation (originally Nintendo), tasked with dealing with individuals that infringe on its rights or do not comply with its regulations. · A programmer or tech worker, particularly one skilled in a particular programming language or environment; used especially in job adverts.
To act or move like a ninja, particularly with regard to a combination of speed, power, and stealth. · to beat someone to a post; to make the same reply just before the other party finishes typing, making their response redundant. · To claim an item through abuse of game mechanics.
Fast and sneaky.
Borrowed from Japanese 忍者 (ninja), of uncertain derivation but with an underlying sense of secret or hidden person. Popularized in Japanese by manga after World War II and in English by the 1980 novel The Ninja by Eric Van Lustbader and the 1981 movie Enter the Ninja Noun sense 3.1 (“Mongolian miner”) arose from the supposed resemblance of the bowls used to wash ore with mercury to the shells of the main characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Juggalo slang sense arose via influence from AAVE nigga.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Borrowed-form mention忍者ja
This page abbreviates 5 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"One trained in ninjutsu, especially one used for espionage, assassination, and other tasks requiring stealth during Japan's shogunate period.",
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