Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Words are strange creatures because within them they contain multiple lives of meaning that inhabit them in the history. They die their own natural death or become irrelevant over time. But some words get rejuvenated because of a major historical event or incident. When we use any word in the contemporary space and time, we tend to focus more on its prevalent meaning, and thus forget the archeological layers hidden beneath its apparent meaning. Assassin is one of such words with long historical association. It has reappeared in academic discussion after the 9/11. According to Oxford dictionary defines assassin as ‘a person who murders somebody important or famous, for money or for political reasons.’ Etymologically, this word is derived from Arabic word ‘hashīshīn’.
However, its meaning is not the same as the word assassin in English. In Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages ‘hashīshīn’ word is used in its original sense of ‘drug’.