assassination

[Jonathan Lighter]

Many years ago I read or heard that "assassination" was a prejudicial,
elitist ideological term because it implied that prominent people deserve a
special word when they're murdered.

Every time you use it you're promoting hierarchy and oppression.

Until now.
JL


On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 10:13 AM, Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> Subject:      assassination
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Yesterday an escaping carjacker shot and killed an Athens GA policeman.
>  Both the police chief and several TV commentators has been referring to the
> murder as an "assassination."
>
> That use of the term sounds odd to me.  Some dictionaries, in entries for
> the noun and its corresponding verb, specify the killing of a "prominent
> person" or "public figure"; others say "especially" for that limitation.
>
> The OED does not (nor does it give any examples of the noun or verb from
> later than the mid-19th century, except in figurative senses, as in
> "character assassination").  Should it?  I assume the specialization of the
> terms (if such exists) is a somewhat receent development (19th or 20th
> century).
>
> --Charlie
>
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