assassin (French)

Where does "assassin" come from?

The French word 'assassin' is traced back to the Arabic term 'ḥaššāšīn,' which historically referred to a secretive sect of 'hashish users' in the Middle East during the Crusades. Over time, European folklore linked these figures to targeted killings, causing the term to travel through Italian and Latin before settling in French to describe a professional or political murderer.

Full etymology tree

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

Updated March 2026

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