as·sas·sin
(ə-săs′ĭn)n.
1. One who murders by surprise attack, especially one who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person.
2. Assassin A member of a militant subgroup of Ismailis that in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries carried out political assassinations directed especially against Seljuk rule.
3. A game in which players eliminate other players by tagging them with an innocuous object, as a sock, rubber band, or pellet from a paintball gun, until only one player remains.
[French, from Medieval Latin assassīnus, from Arabic ḥaššāšīn, pl. of ḥaššāš, hashish user, from ḥašīš, hashish; see hashish.]
Word History: The history of the word assassin shows how legends can influence the development of words as powerfully as facts. European legends about a murderous, drug-crazed sect called the Assassins grew up around the Nizaris, a group of Ismaili Shi'ite Muslims that held strongholds in Iran and Syria from the 11th to the 13th century. The Nizaris opposed the rule of the Seljuk dynasty and the Abbasid caliphs, who were Sunni and regarded the Nizaris as unorthodox outcasts. Sunni accounts of the Nizaris accused them of all sorts of irreligious practices, and one term of abuse applied to the Nizaris was the Arabic word ḥaššāšīn, meaning "hashish users." Reliable sources, however, offer no evidence of hashish use by Nizaris. The Nizaris mounted resistance to this persecution, and one of their most formidable weapons against the Seljuks was the threat of sudden execution by secret agents. Attacks on several leaders among the Crusaders were also attributed to Nizari agents. When the Crusaders returned to Europe, they embellished upon what they had heard about the Nizaris from the group's enemies and told sensational stories about the ḥaššāšīn or Assassins. Marco Polo spun a tale of how young Assassins were given a potion and made to yearn for paradise—their reward for dying in action—by being given a life of sensual pleasure before their secret missions. As the legends spread, the word ḥaššāšīn passed through Italian and French and appeared in English as assassin in the 1500s, already with meanings like "treacherous killer."
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
assassin
(əˈsæsɪn)n
a murderer, esp one who kills a prominent political figure
[C16: from Medieval Latin assassīnus, from Arabic hashshāshīn, plural of hashshāsh one who eats hashish]
Assassin
(əˈsæsɪn)n
(Historical Terms) 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 and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
as•sas•sin
(əˈsæs ɪn)n.
1. a murderer, esp. one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
2. (cap.) one of an order of Muslim fanatics, active in Persia and Syria c1090–1272, whose chief object was to assassinate Crusaders.
[1525–35; < Medieval Latin assassinī (pl.) < Arabic ḥashshāshīn literally, eaters of hashish]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
assassin
- Thought by some to derive from an Arabic word meaning "hashish user," as members of an Islamic sect in various countries during the time of the Crusades (13th century) ate hashish to intoxicate themselves before setting out to assasinate enemy leaders.See also related terms for country.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  assassin - a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed; "his assassins were hunted down like animals"; "assassinators of kings and emperors"political science, politics, government - the study of government of states and other political units liquidator, manslayer, murderer - a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being) |
| 2. |  assassin - a member of a secret order of Muslims (founded in the 12th century) who terrorized and killed Christian Crusaders |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
assassin
noun murderer, killer, slayer, liquidator, executioner, hit man (slang), eliminator (slang), hatchet man (slang) He memorized the number of the assassin's car.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
مُغْتال، قاتِل
atentátníkvrah
snigmorder
salamurhaaja
launmorðingimorîingi
vrah
assassin
[əˈsæsɪn] N → asesino/a m/fCollins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
assassin
n → Attentäter(in) m(f), → Mörder(in) m(f)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
assassin
[əˈsæsɪn] n → assassino/aCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
assassinate
(əˈsӕsineit) verb to murder, especially for political reasons. The president was assassinated by terrorists.
asˌsassiˈnation nounasˈsassin noun
a person who assassinates.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.