assault

assault in law, an attempt or threat, going beyond mere words, to use violence, with the intent and the apparent ability to do harm to another. If violent contact actually occurs, the offense of battery has been committed; modern criminal statutes often combine assault and battery. An assault may be both a crime and a tort , for which the party assaulted may sue for damages; the victim's freedom, as to move or remain at peace, must have been impinged on. Modern criminal statutes recognize certain degrees of assault (e.g., with intent to kill, to do great bodily harm, to rape) as aggravated assaults and felonies, though simple assault remains, as at common law , a misdemeanor. Either malevolence or recklessness (as in driving a car in reckless disregard of human life) may constitute the intent necessary to assault in most jurisdictions.

Bibliography: See W. L. Prosser, Handbook of the Law of Torts (3d ed. 1964).

assault sb. XIII. ME. as(s)aut (later with l as in fault) — OF. asaut (mod. assaut) :- Rom. *assaltus, f. popL. assalīre ASSAIL.
So assault vb. XV. — OF. assauter :- Rom. *assaltare, f. AS- + saltāre, frequent. of salīre leap.

assault n.
1. the climax of an attack, closing with the enemy in hand-to-hand fighting.

2. in an amphibious operation, the period of time between the arrival of the major assault forces of the amphibious task force in the objective area and the accomplishment of the amphibious task force mission.

3. a phase of an airborne operation beginning with delivery by air of the assault echelon of the force into the objective area and extending through attack of assault objectives and consolidation of the initial airhead.
v. to make a short, violent, but well-ordered attack against a local objective, such as a gun emplacement, a fort, or a machine gun nest.