Attempt
late Middle English: from Old French attempter, from Latin attemptare, from ad- ‘to’ + temptare ‘to tempt’.
wiktionary
Late 14th century, as Middle English attempten, from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō(“I try, solicit”), from ad(“to”) + temptare, more correctly tentare(“to try”); see tempt. The noun is from the 1530s, the sense "an assault on somebody's life, assassination attempt" (French attentat) is from 1580.
etymonline
attempt (v.)
late 14c., "seek or try to do, make an effort to perform," from Old French atempter (14c.), earlier atenter "to try, attempt, test" (Modern French attenter), from Latin attemptare "to try, make trial of; tamper with, seek to influence; attack, assail" (source also of Italian attentare, Old Provençal, Portuguese attentar, Spanish atentar), from assimilated form of ad "to, toward" (see ad-) + temptare "to try" (see tempt). Related: Attempted; attempting.
attempt (n.)
1530s, "a putting forth of effort in some difficult or uncertain endeavor," from attempt (v.). Meaning "effort to accomplish something by violence" is from 1580s, especially as an assault on someone's life.
