• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “Assassin” come from and What does Assassin mean?

Where does the word “Assassin” come from and What does Assassin mean?

March 25, 2020 by Karen Hill

In today’s underworld slang, an assassin would be a gangster, a gunman, a gorilla, a trigger boy, or, from the murderous qualities ascribed to the tribe, an Apache.

But the old term, dating to a band of Saracens in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, came from the practice by the members to dope themselves heavily with hashish, more powerful than marijuana, when ordered by the chieftain to commit a murder.

A person thus doped to fanatical zeal was a hashashin, “eater of hashish.”

European Crusaders understood it to be assassin.

Related Facts

  • Where does the word “assassin” come from and What does it mean?
  • How Did the Word Assassin Originate and What Did the Term Mean Originally?
  • Who Were The Assassins And The Old Man of the Mountain?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • What Does the Expression “The Real Dope” Mean and Where Did the Phrase Originate?
  • Did Abraham Lincoln ever see his assassin John Booth perform on stage?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What does Sombrero mean in Spanish and Where does the word “Umbrella” come from?
Next Post: Where does the word “Polliwog” come from and What does Polliwog mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy