DictionaryAI

assassin

uh-SAS-in/əˈsæsɪn/

Pluralassassins

Verbassassins, assassining, assassined

4 meanings of assassin

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A person who deliberately kills someone, especially a hired killer of a public or political figure, or any ruthless killer.

    A hired assassin shot the opposition leader outside his home.

    The senator survived only because the assassin's bullet hit his briefcase.

    UsageThe person is an assassin; the verb is assassinate, and the act is an assassination.

    Note

    In everyday use the word keeps telling company: the midnight assassin, the lurking assassin, and above all the assassin's bullet, which Robert F. Kennedy said in 1968 could never still a martyr's cause. Those pairings point to stealth and planning rather than a sudden brawl: an assassin waits, watches a path, and strikes a chosen target.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

  2. 2
    medieval Muslim groupnounhistoricalcountable
    Someone belonging to the Nizari Ismaili community of Muslims during its Alamut period.

    The historian reconstructs how an Assassin of the twelfth century might have been trained.

    Crusader chronicles are full of rumors about the Assassins and their leader.

    Note

    Here the word names a people rather than a trade, and it is usually capitalized. Florio's 1603 translation of Montaigne spells it Assassines, linking them to killing as a road to Paradise, and the hired killer inherits their name.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The historical name refers to the Nizari Ismailis. iis.ac.uk
    • John Florio's English translation of Montaigne was first published in 1603. clarklibrary.ucla.edu
    • Florio spells the name Assassines and describes killing someone of another religion as their supposed route to Paradise. hyperessays.net
    • The killer sense developed from the historical group's name. hyperessays.net
  3. 3
    kill on purposeverbnonstandardtransitive
    To murder a prominent person, typically for political reasons.

    UsageMost writers use assassinate as the verb: the leader was assassinated.

    Similarassassinate, murder, kill

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    noun
    In algebra, a somewhat humorous name for an associated prime of a module.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of assassin apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From French assassin or Italian assassino, ultimately from variants of Arabic ḥašīšī, an abusive name for the Nizari Ismailis related to the word for hashish. The mathematical sense was introduced by Bourbaki as a play on the notation Ass(M): an associated prime is the annihilator of an element, so it is said to kill that element.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

  • English borrowed assassin from French assassin or Italian assassino. en.wiktionary.org
  • Specialist scholarship derives assassin from variants of Arabic hashishi, an abusive designation for Nizari Ismailis. The foundation-of-faith explanation is an alternative interpretation presented in Amin Maalouf’s novel Samarcande, not an established derivation. iis.ac.uk
  • The derivation from a hashish-related Arabic designation is supported by specialist scholarship. The legend concerns the supposed administration of hashish to the assassins; it should be distinguished from the word’s derivation. iis.ac.uk
  • Ḥaššāšīn can be glossed as hashish users or low-lives. en.wiktionary.org
  • Bourbaki introduced the mathematical sense. en.wiktionary.org
  • The mathematical name plays on Ass(M) and the annihilation or killing of an element. en.wikipedia.org