Meanings
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1
noun
a person who deliberately murders someone, especially a prominent person in a planned surprise attack
Investigators searched the rooftops for the assassin who had targeted the minister.
Thesaurus
Word family
Etymology
From French assassin and Italian assassino, ultimately from an Arabic name applied in medieval sources to the Nizari Ismailis. It is often connected with Arabic ḥashshāshīn, literally 'hashish users,' but the exact history and the popular hashish story are disputed. European use broadened to any hired or treacherous murderer.