Etymologically
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assault

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /əˈsɔːlt/, /əˈsɒlt/, US /əˈsɔːlt/, /əˈsɑːlt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English asaut, assaut, borrowed from Old French asaut, assaut (“attack”),[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *assaltus,[3][4] from Latin ad- “to” and saltāre, a frequentative of salīre “to leap”.[5][6] The -l- was restored after Latin, as in fault and vault.[2][3] It is related to assail, salient and sally.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A hostile rush upon someone, and the charge of a force against the walls of a city: 1297 in the OED.[7][2] Etymonline has the form asaut from about 1200, and an attack by spiritual enemies, a temptation, is from about 1230.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

An unlawful attack on a person is from 1447–8,[7] and in law it is by the 1580s.[2] Historically, an assault in law included threatening words or actions with present means to carry them out, while battery is an actual blow.[2][7] An attack on institutions or opinions is from about 1449,[7] and a fencing bout from 1694.[7] The verb, to attack physically, is from the early 15th century (about 1410 in Barnhart).[2][3] The spelling saulte is in Palsgrave in 1530.[3]

Timeline

  • 1297 – an attack.[7]
  • c. 1410 – verb.[3]
  • 1447–8 – an unlawful attack on a person.[7]
  • 1580s – in law.[2]
  • 1694 – in fencing.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A violent physical attack on someone.
  2. (law) A threat or attempt to harm someone, sometimes including the use of force.
  3. A military attack, especially on a fortified place.
  4. A strong verbal attack or criticism.

Verb

  1. To attack someone violently.
  2. To rape.

Word family

  • assaulter
  • assaultable
  • counterassault
  • nonassault
  • unassaulted
  • assaultive
  • aggravated assault
  • assault and battery
  • assail
  • salient
  • sally
  • somersault

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press