assassinationn.
/əˌsasᵻˈneɪʃn/, U.S. /əˌsæs(ə)nˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ 1. The murder of a person (esp. a prominent public figure) in a planned attack, typically with a political or ideological motive, sometimes carried out by a hired or professional killer; a murderous attack of this kind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > [noun]
murderingeOE
murderOE
banec1175
morth gamec1275
morth spellc1275
slaughterc1325
murdermenta1400
murderdom1514
massacre1589
remove1592
assassinate1596
assassinment1602
assassination1610
assassinacy1611
assassinaya1641
removal1655
murderation1715
murdrum1767
thugdom1839
aliicide1868
hatchet job1925
liquidation1925
rubout1927
murder one1966
neutralization1971
1610 tr. (title) A lamentable discourse vpon the paricide and bloudy assasination [Fr. l'attentat]: committed on the Person of Henry the fourth (of famous memorie).
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vii. 2 If th' Assassination Could trammell vp the Consequence, and catch With his surcease, Successe. View more context for this quotation
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 22 The Duke finish'd his course, by a wicked Assassination.
1792 Acct. Death King of Sweden 17 We find that Ankarstrom first suggested the assassination of the King.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xxi. 660 The English regard assassination..with a loathing peculiar to themselves.
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. vi. 479 The throne of Cnut [was] established by devastating wars, by unrighteous executions, perhaps even by treacherous assassinations.
1925 Amer. Mercury Feb. 137/2 An assassination by a weak-minded young fanatic comprised the first Bolshevik uprising.
1990 T. O'Neill in A. Parfrey Apocalypse Culture 301 Among those secret societies whose aims are political, there is an astonishing history of vengeance, assassination,..and Machiavellianism of the most profound sort.
2002 R. Cahan Court that shaped Amer. v. 164 The West Side turned into a riot zone after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
2. figurative. The action of destroying or ruining someone or something, now esp. a person's reputation; a destructive or ruinous attack. Frequently in character assassination n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > [noun] > bringing into disrepute > attack on reputation
impeachment1569
assassination1647
assassinate1657
character assassination1822
hatchet job1940
1647 in J. Cleveland Poems (new ed.) in Char. London-diurnall (Wing C4666) 52 In this doth lie Th'Assasination of Monarchie.
1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe i. 43 A young Rustick, and yet unskill'd in the Assassinations, and Robberies of Love.
1757 Test 18 June 181 Internally they [sc. the mercenaries of faction] are instigated to the assassination of every exalted character.
1800 J. Foster Let. 11 June in Life & Corr. J. Foster (1846) I. 136 Company is assembled for the assassination of time.
1878 M. E. Braddon Open Verdict III. vii. 95 That would have been to spoil Kenrick's career... I should regard that as a kind of assassination.
1913 L. P. Gratacap Benjamin the Jew xviii. 422 Not one cent, Mr. Arlington, until you liberate me in turn from the assassination of my honor at the hands of your daughter.
1973 Black Panther 7 Apr. 9/2 The cultural, mental, and spiritual assassination of the Spanish speaking population.
2004 Scotsman (Nexis) 11 Nov. 67 McNaughton endured what amounted to a public assassination of his character.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
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1696 Arraignm., Tryal, & Condemnation P. Cooke 44 He is to be tryed upon Thursday: I ask'd him whether it was for the Assassination-Plot, and he told me, no.
1759 T. Smollett Hist. Eng. (ed. 3) IX. 102 Friend protested..that he was utterly ignorant of the assassination-scheme.
1839 Lit. Gaz. 26 Oct. 673/2 Our readers will remember the assassination story at Camberwell.
1855 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Aug. 328/2 The ‘badé’ is the favorite assassination weapon of the Malay.
1905 New Ireland Rev. 19 213 Raleigh's views on the assassination question can be gathered from a letter of his to Cecil in 1598.
1973 V. Teresa & T. C. Renner My Life in Mafia xvi. 176 If Patriarca had been smart..he'd have imported the mob's assassination squads in the beginning.
2004 I. McDonald River of Gods (2005) xlvi. 525 The truth is, his timing is shit. Calling a major board meeting in the middle of an assassination crisis.
C2.
assassination attempt n.
ΚΠ
1786 European Mag. & London Rev. 10 Index Assassination attempts, list of some.
1867 Daily News & Herald (Savannah, Georgia) 29 June (headline) The Assassination Attempt—The Lucky Equerry—sketch of the Man who saved the Life of the Czar.
2013 Daily Tel. 16 Apr. 25/1 He survived at least two assassination attempts.
assassination plot n.
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1696Assassination-Plot [see Compounds 1].
1794 in G. Lamoine Charges to Grand Jury (1992) 523 The Persons who were concerned in the Assassination Plot in the Reign of King William.
1867 G. Smith Three Eng. Statesmen ii. 117 There can be no doubt that the Stuart princes and their advisers were privy to assassination plots.
2011 New Yorker 14 Mar. 71/3 Operation Valkyrie, the July 20, 1944 assassination plot led by Claus von Stauffenberg.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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