assassin
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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; low-lives”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
assassin (plural assassins)
- (historical) A member of the Nizari Ismaili Muslim community of the Alamut Period.
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 29, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] 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 […].
- Someone who intentionally kills a person, especially a professional who kills a public or political figure.
- 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 2, page 233:
- The hand that held the bond of so many jarring interests lay powerless beneath the pall. The perils of war had been about him, and the midnight assassin had watched his path; yet he died quietly in his bed.
- 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.
- Any ruthless killer.
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:killer
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
member of the historical Ismaili Muslim militant group
one who, motivated by political reasons, intentionally kills a particular person
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any ruthless killer
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- 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.
Verb[edit]
assassin (third-person singular simple present assassins, present participle assassining, simple past and past participle assassined)
- (nonstandard) To assassinate.
Translations[edit]
assassinate — see assassinate
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From either Arabic حَشَّاشِين (ḥaššāšīn, “hashish users”) or أَسَاسِيُّون (ʾasāsiyyūn).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
assassin m (plural assassins, feminine assassine)
Adjective[edit]
assassin (feminine assassine, masculine plural assassins, feminine plural assassines)
Further reading[edit]
- “assassin”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Arabic
- English terms derived from the Arabic root ء س س
- English terms derived from the Arabic root ح ش ش
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms borrowed from Italian
- English terms derived from Italian
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æsɪn
- Rhymes:English/æsɪn/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with historical senses
- English terms with quotations
- English verbs
- English nonstandard terms
- en:Crime
- en:Death
- en:Murder
- en:People
- French terms borrowed from Arabic
- French terms derived from Arabic
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French adjectives
- fr:Murder