o 1 n 1 s 1 e 1 t 1
5 letters · 5 points in Scrabble
Meaning
noun the beginning or early stages
noun (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
originFrom on- + set. Compare Old English onsettan (“to impose; oppress, bear down”). For semantic parallels for the meaning to assault, compare cognate Russian насе́сть pf (naséstʹ), наседа́ть impf (nasedátʹ).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0