English
attack
Attack comes from French attaque, from attaquer, from Italian attaccare ‘to join (battle)’, from Frankish *stakkijan ‘to stick, attach’.
- Frankishc. 250–700*stakkijan‘to stick, attach’reconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentattaccare‘to join, attach’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentattaquer
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentattaque
- Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861attack
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frankishc. 250–700*stakkijan‘to stick, attach’reconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentattaccare‘to join, attach’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentattaquer
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentattaque
- Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861attack
Earliest quotation: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, London: Longman: “On the fourth of March he was attacked by…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp’
style, tiger, stigma, stylus, instigate, stiletto, tigress, 9 more
through Proto-Germanic *stikaną ‘to stick’
stock, stick, stitch, shtick, schtick, 3 more
through Old French atachier ‘to attach’
through Old French destachier ‘to detach’
through Italian staccare ‘to detach, to remove, to separate, to take or…’
Today it means
noun An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Frankish *stakkijan / attack