Words are essential.

Having an extensive and let’s say colourful vocabulary means that we are able to express ourselves in a whole host of different ways – and if you’re a writer, the more words you know, the more potent you can be. But do we ever consider where many of the words we use originated?

This mini blog series aptly named ‘Word Bites’ will concentrate on a different word in each episode, giving a brief insight into how it came to light. There’s no real method to the words I’ll be selecting over the coming months, in fact it will be completely random – just to mix things up a little.

So, without further ado, the first word (as you may have gathered from the title) on my ‘list’ is assassin.

Definition:

n. Murderer, generally somewhat professional; esp. one who murders a prominent figure.

Origin:

During the times of the crusade, members of a particular top secret Muslim sect bound people to terrorise their Christian enemies by performing organised murders as a form of religious duty.

Generally, these rather brutal yet calculated acts were carried out under the influence of hashish, and subsequently, these killers become known as hashashins, meaning the eaters or smokers of hash. Eventually, this term was shortened and over time, evolved into the term assassin.

There you have it, the origins or the word assassin. Although you may not use it in every day speech, it might make you look at assassins in a whole new way!

Keep an eye out for the next episode of ‘Word Bites’ and if you need any words written for your website, feel free to get in touch.

Images: Steven Feather and Niranjan via Flickr