assassin
[ uh-sas-in ]
/ əˈsæs ɪn /
noun
a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
(initial capital letter) one of an order of Muslim fanatics, active in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1272, whose chief object was to assassinate Crusaders.
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assail, assailant, assam, assam states, assamese, assassin, assassin bug, assassin fly, assassinate, assassination, assateague island
Origin of assassin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for assassin
British Dictionary definitions for assassin (1 of 2)
assassin
/ (əˈsæsɪn) /
noun
a murderer, esp one who kills a prominent political figure
Word Origin for assassin
C16: from Medieval Latin assassīnus, from Arabic hashshāshīn, plural of hashshāsh one who eats hashish
British Dictionary definitions for assassin (2 of 2)
Assassin
/ (əˈsæsɪn) /
noun
a member of a secret sect of Muslim fanatics operating in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1256, murdering their victims, usually Crusaders
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for assassin
assassin
1530s (in Anglo-Latin from mid-13c.), via French and Italian, from Arabic hashishiyyin "hashish-users," plural of hashishiyy, from hashish (q.v.). A fanatical Ismaili Muslim sect of the time of the Crusades, under leadership of the "Old Man of the Mountains" (translates Arabic shaik-al-jibal, name applied to Hasan ibu-al-Sabbah), with a reputation for murdering opposing leaders after intoxicating themselves by eating hashish. The plural suffix -in was mistaken in Europe for part of the word (cf. Bedouin).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper