assassin

[uh-sas-in]

noun

1. a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.

2. (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.

Assassin

¹

/ əˈsæsɪn /

noun

1. a member of a secret sect of Muslim fanatics operating in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1256, murdering their victims, usually Crusaders

assassin

²

/ əˈsæsɪn /

noun

1. a murderer, esp one who kills a prominent political figure

Word History and Origins

Origin of assassin¹

1525–35; < Medieval Latin assassinī (plural) < Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish

Word History and Origins

Origin of assassin¹

C16: from Medieval Latin assassīnus, from Arabic hashshāshīn, plural of hashshāsh one who eats _hashish

Example Sentences

The judge Lord Mulholland described Hunter as a paid assassin and said the streets of Edinburgh and Scotland were not war zones.

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The assassin may have been lost to history by nearly everyone but Stephen Sondheim.

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Unbeknownst to him, his adopted daughter is secretly a telepath and his fake wife is an assassin.

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“Criminals, assassins ... they deserve beatings and the full force of the Mexican state.”

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Then, as the story goes, Mangione’s photos were released, and the narrative shifted away from the motivation behind Thompson’s killing and toward his purported assassin’s appearance.

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