Old Man of the Mountain

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Hassan-ben- Sabah, the sheikh Al Jebal, and founder of the sect called Assassins

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Old Man of the Mountain” mean?

Hassan-ben- Sabah, the sheikh Al Jebal, and founder of the sect called Assassins

Is “Old Man of the Mountain” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.