Today’s Spanish word of the day is “asesinar”.
It’s a verb meaning “to murder” or “to assassinate”. It looks a lot like the English word “assassinate”, but it has a broader meaning in Spanish. It’s the most common verb used to refer to murder in general in Spanish, though it can also refer to political assassinations.
Like the English word “assassinate”, it originally comes from Arabic hashshāshīn, which was a nickname for the medieval Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslim sect in Persia and the Levant, who were known for assassinating their enemies. It’s thought the word hashshāshīn was related to the word “hashish”, since the Nizari Ismaili were rumored to be hashish users, though there’s no evidence they actually were.
Example sentences
La historia cuenta cómo un rey fue asesinado por su propio hermano.
The story tells how a king was assassinated by his own brother.
El detective descubrió quién quería asesinar a la víctima.
The detective discovered who wanted to murder the victim.
¿Quién podría haber asesinado a la anciana si todos en el pueblo la querían?
Who could have murdered the old woman if everyone in the town loved her?
El hombre confesó que asesinó a su amigo por dinero.
The man confessed that he murdered his friend for money.
A pesar de las acusaciones, no hay pruebas suficientes para demostrar que él asesinó a su jefe.
Despite the accusations, there isn’t enough evidence to prove that he murdered his boss.
