Why use the word 'assasinate' and not just 'killed' or 'murdered'? Is the word 'assassinate' used to depict the status of the dead person? That is, can an ordinary person who is not a top politician be 'assassinated'?
2006-08-02 01:02:45 · 5 answers · asked by ogieeboigbe 2 in News & Events ➔ Media & Journalism
"The word 'assassination' comes from the Old French word 'assassis', hashish eaters who committed murder. The Italian word 'assassino' originally meant hashish eater but eventually came to mean murderer. In Arabic the word hashshashin , again literally, meant hashish eater, in reference to a religious and military order located chiefly in the mountains of Lebanon. Those hashish eaters were noted for carrying out secret murders in blind obedience to their leader, a condition brought on because the members selected to commit a murder, especially of a king or public figure, were first intoxicated with hashish. The term as we now use it still refers chiefly to a murder of a public figure."
2006-08-02 01:07:59 · answer #1 · answered by NDallasRuss 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes, the word assassinate is by definition related only to people with an important social status.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=assassinate
2006-08-02 08:07:09 · answer #2 · answered by John J 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown (DaVinci Code). He gives an historical definition.
2006-08-02 08:13:04 · answer #3 · answered by chicky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's only a sinonym for murdered. Maybe as it is not so commonly used, you thought it means something different, but it doesn't.
2006-08-02 08:09:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://ismaili.net/histoire/history06/history610.html
2006-08-02 08:10:56 · answer #5 · answered by Dog Mama 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋