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assassin

uh-SAS-in/əˈsæsɪn/

Pluralassassins

Verbassassins, assassining, assassined

4 meanings of assassin

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A person who kills someone on purpose, often an important person, sometimes for money.

    The king's guards caught the assassin before he could reach the palace.

    Police said the assassins had followed the mayor for weeks.

    UsageThe person is an assassin; the action is to assassinate.

    Note
  2. 2
    medieval Muslim groupnounhistoricalcountable
    A member of a Muslim group, the Nizari Ismailis, during the Alamut period long ago.

    Her novel follows a young Assassin who grows up in the fortress of Alamut.

    The Assassins held many castles high in the mountains.

    Note
  3. 3
    kill on purposeverbnonstandardtransitive
    To kill an important person, like a leader, on purpose.

    UsageMost people say assassinate instead.

    Similarassassinate, murder, kill

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    noun
    In advanced math, a playful name for a certain kind of prime that belongs to a module.

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Origin

It came into English from French or Italian, from an Arabic word related to hashish that was used as an insult for the Nizari Ismailis.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  • Assassin entered English from French or Italian. en.wikipedia.org
  • The established derivation is from a hashish-related Arabic designation used abusively for Nizari Ismailis. The foundation-of-faith explanation is an alternative interpretation presented in Amin Maalouf’s novel Samarcande. iis.ac.uk