English
assailant
Assailant comes from Late Latin assalīre.
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEassalīre1
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400assaillant1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600assailant1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English assailant
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “I’ll put myself in poor and mean attire, And…”.
Lineage
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEassalīreWiktionary, English assailant
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400assaillantWiktionary, English assailant
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600assailantWiktionary, English assailant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “I’ll put myself in poor and mean attire, And…”
A compound of ad ‘to, towards’ + salīre ‘to jump’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’
Proto-Italic *ad ‘toward, to, on, up to, for’
Latin ad ‘to, towards’
Latin salīre ‘to jump’
Linked words
through Late Latin assalīre
Today it means
noun Someone who attacks or assails another violently, or criminally.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “assailant”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Late Latin assalīre / assailant