assassin (French)

Where does "assassin" come from?

The word originated from the Arabic term 'ḥaššāšīn', historically referring to followers of a mystical sect who were reputedly users of hashish. This term entered French several centuries ago, eventually shifting from a specific label for sectarian killers to a general descriptor for anyone or anything performing a deadly or fatal act.

Full etymology tree

• assassin (French), 'an assassin or other murderer'
  • inherited from assassin (Middle French)
    • borrowed from ḥaššāšīn (Arabic)
    • borrowed from ʔasāsiyyūn (Arabic)

Updated March 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris