The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Shizoku \Shi*zo"ku\, n. sing. & pl. [Jap. shi-zoku, fr. Chin. ch' (chi) branch, posterity + tsu kindered, class.] The Japanese warrior gentry or middle class, formerly called samurai; also, any member of this class. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]