The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Samisen \Sam"i*sen\, n. [Jap.] (Mus.) A Japanese musical instrument with three strings, resembling a guitar or banjo. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
samisen n 1: 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: samisen, shamisen]