Word of the Day

: August 23, 2007

assail

verb uh-SAIL

What It Means

: to attack violently with blows or words

assail in Context

When Harriet came home and found her son riding his tricycle in the road, she tore into the house and assailed the babysitter for her irresponsibility.

Did You Know?

"Assail" comes from an Anglo-French verb, "assaillir," which itself traces back to the Latin verb "assilire" ("to leap upon"). "Assilire" combines the prefix "ad-" ("to, toward") with the Latin verb "salire," meaning "to leap." When "assail" was first used in the 13th century, it meant "to make a violent physical attack upon." By the 1500s, English speakers were using the term to mean "to attack with words or arguments."