The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Assault \As*sault"\, n. [OE. asaut, assaut, OF. assaut, asalt,
   F. assaut, LL. assaltus; L. ad + saltus a leaping, a
   springing, salire to leap. See Assail.]
   1. A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows,
      weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an
      attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a
      house, or a town.
      [1913 Webster]

            The Spanish general prepared to renew the assault.
                                                  --Prescott.
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            Unshaken bears the assault
            Of their most dreaded foe, the strong southwest.
                                                  --Wordsworth.
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   2. A violent onset or attack with moral weapons, as words,
      arguments, appeals, and the like; as, to make an assault
      on the prerogatives of a prince, or on the constitution of
      a government. --Clarendon.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Law) An apparently violent attempt, or willful offer with
      force or violence, to do hurt to another; an attempt or
      offer to beat another, accompanied by a degree of
      violence, but without touching his person, as by lifting
      the fist, or a cane, in a threatening manner, or by
      striking at him, and missing him. If the blow aimed takes
      effect, it is a battery. --Blackstone. Wharton.
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            Practically, however, the word assault is used to
            include the battery.                  --Mozley & W.
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   Syn: Attack; invasion; incursion; descent; onset; onslaught;
        charge; storm.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Assault \As*sault"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assaulted; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Assaulting.] [From Assault, n.: cf. OF. assaulter,
   LL. assaltare.]
   1. To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men;
      to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or
      menaces.
      [1913 Webster]

            Insnared, assaulted, overcome, led bound. --Milton.
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   2. To attack with moral means, or with a view of producing
      moral effects; to attack by words, arguments, or
      unfriendly measures; to assail; as, to assault a
      reputation or an administration.
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            Before the gates, the cries of babes newborn, . . .
            Assault his ears.                     --Dryden.
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   Note: In the latter sense, assail is more common.
         [1913 Webster]

   Syn: To attack; assail; invade; encounter; storm; charge. See
        Attack.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

assault
    n 1: close fighting during the culmination of a military attack
    2: a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who
       appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped
    3: thoroughbred that won the triple crown in 1946
    4: the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse
       against her will [syn: rape, violation, assault,
       ravishment]
    v 1: attack someone physically or emotionally; "The mugger
         assaulted the woman"; "Nightmares assailed him regularly"
         [syn: assail, assault, set on, attack]
    2: force (someone) to have sex against their will; "The woman
       was raped on her way home at night" [syn: rape, ravish,
       violate, assault, dishonor, dishonour, outrage]
    3: attack in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning
       paper attacked the new House Speaker" [syn: attack,
       round, assail, lash out, snipe, assault]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

208 Moby Thesaurus words for "assault":
   abuse, aggravated assault, aggression, ambush, amphibious attack,
   armed assault, assail, assailing, assailment, attack,
   banzai attack, barbarize, batter, battering, battery, bear,
   bear upon, beat up, beating, berating, beset, bitter words,
   blackening, blitz, blitzkrieg, boost, breakthrough, bruise,
   brutalize, buck, bull, bulldoze, bump, bump against, bunt, burn,
   bushwhack, butcher, butchery, butt, butt against, carry on,
   censure, charge, citation, come at, come down on, contumely,
   counterattack, counteroffensive, coup de main, crack down on, cram,
   crippling attack, crowd, dead set at, descend on, descend upon,
   descent on, destroy, diatribe, dig, disorderliness, diversion,
   diversionary attack, drive, elbow, execration, fall on, fall upon,
   flank attack, force, forcible seizure, frontal attack, gang up on,
   gas attack, go at, go for, go on, goad, hammer, hard words, harm,
   harry, have at, head-on attack, hit, hit like lightning, hold-up,
   hurtle, hustle, implication, impugnment, incrimination,
   inculpation, incursion, infiltration, invasion, invective,
   involvement, jab, jam, jawing, jeremiad, jog, joggle, jolt, jostle,
   jump, killing, land on, lay at, lay hands on, lay into, lay waste,
   laying waste, light into, lightning attack, lightning war, loot,
   looting, mass attack, massacre, maul, megadeath, molest,
   molestation, mug, mugging, nudge, obstreperousness, offense,
   offensive, onset, onslaught, overkill, panzer warfare, philippic,
   pile drive, pillage, pillaging, pitch into, poke, pounce upon,
   pound, press, prod, punch, push, rage, raid, ram, ram down, ramp,
   rampage, rant, rape, rating, rattle, rave, revilement, riot,
   rioting, roar, ruin, run, run against, run at, rush, sack, sacking,
   sail into, sally, savage, screed, set on, set upon, shake,
   shock tactics, shoulder, shove, slaughter, smite, sortie,
   sow chaos, sowing with salt, storm, stress, strike, surprise,
   swoop down on, take the offensive, tamp, tear, tear around,
   terrorize, thrust, tirade, tongue-lashing, unprovoked assault,
   unruliness, vandalize, vilification, violate, violation,
   vituperation, wade into, wreck



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

ASSAULT, crim. law. An assault is any unlawful attempt or offer with force
or violence to do a corporal hurt to another, whether from malice or
wantonness; for example, by striking at him or even holding up the fist at
him in a threatening or insulting manner, or with other circumstances as
denote at the time. an intention, coupled with a present ability, of actual
violence against his person, as by pointing a weapon at him when he is
within reach of it. 6 Rogers Rec: 9. When the injury is actually inflicted,
it amounts to a battery. (q.v.)
     2. Assaults are either simple or aggravated. 1. A simple assault is one
Where there is no intention to do any other injury. This is punished at
common law by fine and imprisonment. 2. An aggravated assault is one that
has in addition to the bare intention to commit it, another object which is
also criminal; for example, if a man should fire a pistol at another and
miss him, the former would be guilty of an assault with intent to murder; so
an assault with intent to rob a man, or with intent to spoil his clothes,
and the like, are aggravated assaults, and they are more severely punished
than simple assaults. General references, 1 East, P. C. 406; Bull. N. P. 15;
Hawk. P. B. b. 1, c. 62, s. 12; 1 Russ.  Cr. 604; 2 Camp. Rep. 650 1
Wheeler's Cr. C. 364; 6 Rogers' Rec. 9; 1 Serg. & Rawle, 347 Bac. Ab. h.t.;
Roscoe. Cr. Ev. 210.