assassin

English

Etymology

From either French assassin or Italian assassino, from Arabic أَسَاسِيِّين‎ (ʾasāsiyyīn, “people who are faithful to the foundation [of the faith]”) and the folkloric etymology Arabic حَشَّاشِين‎ (ḥaššāšīn, “hashish users”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈsæsɪn/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æsɪn

Noun

assassin (plural assassins)

1. (historical) A member of a Muslim group who employed assassination of key enemy figures as their tactic.
   • 1603, John Florio, transl.; Michel de Montaigne, chapter 29, in The Essayes, […], book II, printed at London: By Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:

     The Assassines, a nation depending of Phœnicia, are esteemed among the Mahometists of a soveraigne devotion and puritie of maners; they hold, that the readiest and shortest way to gaine Paradise, is to kill some one of a contrary religion […].

   (by extension, historical) A member of the Nizari Ismaili sect of Islam

2. Someone who intentionally kills a person, especially a professional who kills a public or political figure.
   • 2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:

     Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.

3. Any ruthless killer.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:killer

Derived terms

Terms derived from assassin (noun)

• assassin spider
• assassinate
• assassination

• assassinator
• assassinatrix

• assassinous
• royal assassin
• assassinship

Translations

member of the historical Ismaili Muslim militant group

• Arabic: حَشَّاش‎ m (ḥaššāš)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 哈萨辛 (hāsàxīn)

• Czech: asasín m, hašašín
• Danish: assassiner (da) pl
• Dutch: assassijn, Assassijn
• French: assassin (fr) m
• German: Assassine (de) m
• Greek: ασσασίνος (el) m (assasínos)
• Hungarian: asszaszin (hu)

• Italian: assassino (it) m
• Persian: حشاشین‎ (ḥaššâšin)
• Polish: asasyn m
• Portuguese: assassino (pt) m
• Russian: ассаси́н (ru) m (assasín), хашаши́н m (xašašín)
• Serbo-Croatian: asasin (sh) m
• Slovak: asasín m
• Turkish: haşhaşi
• Welsh: asasin m

one who, motivated by political reasons, intentionally kills a particular person

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: قَاتِل‎ (ar) m (qātil), سَفَّاح‎ m (saffāḥ), سَفَّاك‎ m (saffāk)
• Armenian: մարդասպան (hy) (mardaspan)
• Bulgarian: терорист (terorist)
• Catalan: assassí (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 刺客 (zh) (cìkè), 凶手 (zh) (xiōngshǒu)

• Czech: atentátník (cs) m
• Danish: snigmorder c, snigmorderske c, attentatmand c, attentatkvinde c, lønmorder c
• Dutch: sluipmoordenaar (nl) m, huurmoordenaar (nl) m (professional murderer)
• Esperanto: murdinto, murdintino (female)
• Estonian: palgamõrvar
• Faroese: slysdrápsmaður m
• Finnish: salamurhaaja (fi)
• French: assassin (fr) m
• Galician: asasino (gl) m
• Georgian: კილერი (ḳileri), დაქირავებული მკვლელი (dakiravebuli mḳvleli)
• German: Attentäter (de) m, Attentäterin (de) f, Mörder (de) m, Mörderin (de) f
• Greek: δολοφόνος (el) m or f (dolofónos)
• Hebrew: מתנקש‎ m (mitnakesh)
• Hungarian: bérgyilkos (hu)
• Icelandic: launmorðingi m
• Irish: feallmharfóir m
• Italian: assassino (it) m, assassina (it) f
• Japanese: 暗殺者 (あんさつしゃ, ansatsusha), 刺客 (ja) (しきゃく, shikyaku), キラー (kirā)
• Khmer: ឃាតករ (kʰiet kɑɑ)

• Korean: 암살자 (amsalja), 자객 (ko) (jagaek)
• Latin: assassīnus m, percussor m, sicarius
• Latvian: algots slepkava f, slepkava f
• Macedonian: атентатор m (atentator)
• Malay: pembunuh upahan
• Norman: assâsîn m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: snikmorder m, snikmorderske m or f, attentatmann m, attentatkvinne m or f, lønnmorder m

  Nynorsk: snikmordar m, attentatmann m, attentatkvinne f

• Oriya: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: آدمکش‎ (fa) (âdamkoš)
• Polish: zamachowiec (pl) m, skrytobójca (pl) m, skrytobójczyni f
• Portuguese: assassino (pt) m, assassina (pt) f
• Russian: уби́йца (ru) m or f (ubíjca), ки́ллер (ru) m (kíller), наёмный уби́йца (ru) m (najómnyj ubíjca)
• Serbo-Croatian: atentator (sh) m, атентатор m
• Slovak: atentátnik m
• Slovene: atentator m, atentatorka f
• Spanish: asesino (es) m, asesina (es) f
• Swedish: lönnmördare (sv) c, lönnmörderska (sv) c
• Tagalog: manlilingo
• Thai: ผู้สังหาร (pûu-sǎng-hǎan)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: suikastçı (tr)
• Vietnamese: kẻ ám sát, sát thủ (vi)
• Welsh: bradlofrudd m
• Yiddish: רוצח‎ m (retseyekh), מערדער‎ m (merder)

any ruthless killer

• Bulgarian: уби́ец (bg) m (ubíec)
• Catalan: assassí (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暗殺者 (zh), 暗杀者 (zh) (ànshāzhě)

• Danish: morder (da) c, drabsmand c
• Dutch: moordenaar (nl) m
• French: assassin (fr) m
• Galician: asasino (gl) m, asasina f
• Georgian: მკვლელი (mḳvleli)
• German: Meuchelmörder (de) m, Meuchelmörderin (de) f, Mörder (de) m, Mörderin (de) f
• Greek: δολοφόνος (el) m or f (dolofónos)

• Italian: assassino (it) m, assassina (it) f
• Norman: assâsîn m, assâsine f
• Polish: zabójca (pl) m, zabójczyni (pl) f, zbójczyni (pl) f
• Portuguese: assassino (pt) m, assassina (pt) f
• Russian: уби́йца (ru) m or f (ubíjca)
• Scottish Gaelic: murtair m
• Serbo-Croatian: ubojica (sh), убојица m
• Slovak: vrah (sk) m
• Spanish: asesino (es) m, asesina (es) f
• Turkish: katil (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 자객 (ko) (jagaek)

Verb

assassin (third-person singular simple present assassins, present participle assassining, simple past and past participle assassined)

1. (nonstandard) To assassinate.

Translations

assassinate — see assassinate

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French

Etymology

From either Arabic حَشَّاشِين‎ (ḥaššāšīn, “hashish users”) or أَسَاسِيُّون‎ (ʾasāsiyyūn).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.sa.sɛ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

assassin m (plural assassins)

1. an assassin

Adjective

assassin (feminine singular assassine, masculine plural assassins, feminine plural assassines)

1. deadly; fatal; that kills

Further reading

• “assassin” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).