Source — Merriam-Webster, "Wabi-sabi"
- Title: Wabi-sabi (dictionary entry)
- Author: Merriam-Webster (unauthored dictionary staff entry)
- Publication: Merriam-Webster.com
- URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wabi-sabi
- Date: undated (live dictionary entry; first-known-use date given inside the entry, see below)
- Accessed: 2026-09-01
- Type: tertiary (general-purpose English dictionary) — neutral, lexicographic stance.
Extract
- Definition: "a philosophy of Japanese origin that emphasizes the aesthetic value in imperfect and impermanent things and the transient nature of life and that embraces the beauty in simple everyday objects." A second sense: "the qualities of imperfection, impermanence, and simplicity considered as beautiful."
- Etymology: derives the compound from Japanese, combining wabi (glossed "austere beauty," traced to Old Japanese roots relating to loneliness) and sabi (glossed "aged appearance, rustic patina," traced to Old Japanese words connected to feeling lonely, rust, and corrosion).
- First known use: 1963.
- The entry's variant-spelling list ("wabi sabi," "Wabi-Sabi," "Wabi Sabi") shows capitalization/spacing is not yet fixed in English usage.
Gaps
- This page confirms English-dictionary adoption and a first-use date, but (like the OED, below) is a general dictionary's summary gloss, not a scholarly account of wabi and sabi's separate histories within Japanese aesthetics — see the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy source for that.