ATTACK

I. verb Etymology: Middle French attaquer, from Old Italian *estaccare to attach, from stacca stake, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English staca Date: 1562 transitive verb to set upon or work against forcefully, to assail with unfriendly or bitter words , to begin to affect or to act on injuriously , to set to work on , to threaten (a piece in chess) with immediate capture, intransitive verb to make an ~, ~er noun Synonyms: see: ~ II. noun Date: 1655 the act of ~ing with physical force or unfriendly words ; assault , a belligerent or antagonistic action, 3. a fit of sickness, a period of being strongly affected by something (as a desire or mood), 4. an offensive or scoring action , offensive players or the positions taken up by them, the setting to work on some undertaking , the beginning of destructive action (as by a chemical agent), the act or manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase, III. adjective Date: 1899 designed, planned, or used for carrying out a military ~