Where does “assail” come from?
Assail comes from Middle English assailen, from Old French asaillir, from Latin assilio, composed of the prefix ad- and the verb salīre meaning to jump or leap.
assail (English): To attack with harsh words or violent force
Definitions
- To attack with harsh words or violent force
Ancestry of “assail”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | assailen | To assail or assault; to loot or attack; To begin... |
| 2 | Old French | assalir | to jump on; to attack; to assault |
| 3 | Latin | assaliō | — |
| 4 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 5 | Latin | īn- | — |
| 6 | Latin | în | — |
| 7 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
Words derived from “assail”