assaillir

Forms

assaillir^[1] Old French asalir (10th century), assalir, asaillir.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French asalir, inherited from Vulgar Latin *assaliō (“to leap at, attack”), a remaking of Latin assiliō (“to leap upon”), the classical form, after the simple verb saliō (“to leap”).^[5][2][6][7] The Vulgar Latin verb is found in the Salic law.^[5][8] The form with /j/ (1080) was remade on saillir, and the conjugation developed in step with that verb.^[2][6]

Cognate with Italian assalire, Old Occitan assalhir, Catalan assallir and Spanish asalir.^[6][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 10th-century Passion, of Christ attacking Hell: Qua e l'enfern dunc asalit “and then he assailed Hell”.^[5][10]

Semantic evolution

Rey notes that the object was at first a fortified place.^[2] Only from the late 12th century was it an enemy.^[2] About 1180–1200 the subject could be something inanimate, as storms at sea.^[5] The figurative senses “to overwhelm, to harass” are common in classical and modern literary French, while an erotic use of Middle French, as with saillir, has disappeared.^[2]

Timeline

• 980 – Asalir appears in the Passion.^[10][5]
• c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland has asaillit.^[5][3]
• 12th century – The present participle assaillant is used as a noun and adjective.^[2][6]
• 1180–1200 – A storm is the subject, in the Roman d'Alexandre.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To attack someone by throwing oneself on them, to assail.^[11][12][13]
2. (literary) Of storms or the sea, to fall upon or batter.^[11][10]
3. To rush upon someone in a crowd, as journalists or admirers do.^[11][13]
4. Assaillir quelqu'un de: to overwhelm someone with something, as questions.^[11]
5. (abstract) Of thoughts, doubts or desires, to beset someone.^[11][10]

Word family

• assaillant

Related words

• saillir
• assaut
• Latin assiliō

Usage notes

Older French conjugated the verb as j'assaus, il assaut, future j'assaudrai;^[8] Malherbe and Régnier still wrote assaut, and Littré calls it an archaism rather than a mistake.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 503b
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
13. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)