Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Samisen \Sam"i*sen\, n. [Jap.] (Mus.)
   A Japanese musical instrument with three strings, resembling
   a guitar or banjo.

Source : WordNet®

samisen
     n : a Japanese stringed instrument resembling a banjo with a
         long neck and three strings and a fretted fingerboard and
         a rectangular soundbox; played with a plectrum [syn: {shamisen}]