spadassin means a fighter, duelist. It carries an Arena rating of 1475, earned across 157 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, spadassin ranks #3,713 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,772 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,919 of 17,105 for Most Storied Words, #4,653 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
Why “spadassin” is a great word
SPADASSIN — [Noun] A professional fighter or duelist, especially a swordsman for hire. From French spadassin, from Italian spadaccino ("swordsman"), from spada ("sword"). Unlike a "knight," bound by chivalric duty, or an "assassin," defined by stealth and political murder, a spadassin is a creature of pure profession. He is the cold precision of a rapier in a dawn fog, the bored perfection of a parry turned to a killing thrust, and the precise, economical movement that ends an argument in a cobbled alley—a practitioner of violence as a crisp, amoral trade.
Etymology
From French spadassin, itself from Italian spadaccino (“swordsman”).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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