assassin English · revision 32

+ ==Etymology==

+ Recorded in English from the 16th century,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and in Anglo-Latin from the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline) It is [[bor|fr|assassin]] or [[it|assassino]],^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) [[der|la-med|assassīnus]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|ar|حَشَّاشِين|tr=ḥaššāšīn|t=hashish users]], plural of ''ḥaššāš'' “hashish user”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) from ''ḥašīš'' “hashish”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

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+ The Arabic word was a nickname, variously explained, for the Nizari Ismaili sect at the time of the Crusades.^(Etymonline) In Western Europe they were reputed to murder opposing leaders after intoxicating themselves with hashish, but there is no evidence that the medieval Ismailis used it.^(Etymonline) The Arabic plural ending ''-in'' was mistaken in Europe for part of the word.^(Etymonline) Wiktionary also records a derivation from Arabic ''asāsiyyīn'' “people faithful to the foundation (of the faith)”.^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}