English → Latin
“assault” in Latin
adoriorto assail, assault, attack; to accost, approach; to undertake, initiate, engage inincurrōto run into or towards; to attack, invade; to happen (to), befall, occur, to incuroppugnōto attack, assault, storm, besiegeimpugnōto attack, fight against; to impugn, assailurbsa city, walled town; the City, Romeimpetusan attack, an assault, a charge; a rapid motion; impulse, vehemence, ardor, passionoppugnātiōassault, attack; siegevolōto wish, to please; to want; to mean, to intendverberlash, whip, scourge, rod; a thong of a sling or other similar projectile weapons; a stroke with a whip, a lashing, scourvīsstrength; might; vigor; capability (physical)
The English word assault itself goes back to Latin ad, through assalio.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
assault v.
adoriri, aggredi aliquem: impetum facere or invadere in ahquem: incurrere, incursare in aliquem: oppugnare or impugnare (urbem. etc. also aliquem). With the sward, ferro petere or lacessere aliquem: in the rear, a tergo adoriri aliquem. [SYN. in ASSAIL.]
To commit an assault on anybody, alicui manus afferre, admovere, injicere: alicui vim afferre (also = to lay violent hands on, to kill): alicui vim et manus injicere (to commit violence): plagam or plagas alicui imponere, infligere, injicere (to strike anybody).
assault s.
impetus: incursus (both of enemies and of a disease): oppugnatio, impetus in locum factus (assault on a town). A personal assault, vis or verbera. To commit an assault upon anybody, alicui vim afferre (Cic.): vim facere in aliquem (Ter.). [Vid. ASSAULT, v.] To accuse anybody of an assault, or bring an action of assault against anybody, aliquemreum facere de vi. To take a town, etc., by assault, vi or impetu capere: vi or per vim expugnare: impetu facto scalis capere. To determine on an as sault, exercitum ad urbem oppugnandam admovere: to order an anault, urbem vi adoriri or oppugnare: scalis muros aggredi. To commit a criminal assault, vim or stuprum afferre alicui; stuprum inferre alicui; per vim stuprare aliquam; decus muliebre expugnare (Liv.). [Vid. ATTACK, end.]
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for assault?
- The usual Latin words for “assault” are adorior, incurrō, oppugnō; also impugnō, urbs, impetus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.