ninja

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The Word of the Day for July 12 is:

ninja   \NIN-juh\   noun
     : a person trained in ancient Japanese martial arts and employed 
especially for espionage and assassinations

Example sentence:
     Ninjas are thought to be able to run faster than ordinary men, scale 
impossible walls, and endure the severest of pain.

Did you know? 
     Ninjas may seem mysterious, but the origin of their name is not. The word 
"ninja" derives from the Japanese characters "nin" and "ja." "Nin" initially 
meant "persevere," but over time it developed the extended meanings "conceal" 
and "move stealthily." In Japanese, "ja" means "person." Ninjas originated in 
the mountains of Japan over 800 years ago as practitioners of ninjutsu, a 
martial art sometimes called "the art of stealth" or "the art of invisibility." 
They often served as military spies and were trained in disguise, concealment, 
geography, meteorology, medicine, and also other martial arts. Popular legends 
still associate them with espionage and assassinations, but modern ninjas are 
most likely to study ninjutsu to improve their physical fitness and 
self-defense skills.