Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A Japanese pilot trained in World War II to make a suicidal crash attack, especially upon a ship.
  • noun An airplane loaded with explosives to be piloted in a suicide attack.
  • noun Slang An extremely reckless person who seems to court death.
  • adjective Of or relating to a suicidal air attack.
  • adjective Slang So reckless in behavior or actions as to be suicidal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An attack requiring the suicide of the one carrying it out, especially when done with an aircraft.
  • noun One who makes an attack requiring his suicide, especially when done with an aircraft.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a fighter plane used for suicide missions by Japanese pilots in World War II
  • noun a pilot trained and willing to cause a suicidal crash

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Japanese, divine wind (from the legendary name of a typhoon that in 1281 saved Japan by destroying the Mongol navy) : kami, divine + kaze, wind.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Japanese 神風 (かみかぜ (kamikaze, "divine wind")).

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