Etymology
1. The verb is derived from Middle English stormen (“of the wind: to blow violently; to cause to roll or toss”), from storm (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs).
2. Compare Middle English sturmen (“to attack (someone) with great force”), from Old English styrman (“to rage, storm; to make a great noise, cry aloud, shout, storm”), from Proto-West Germanic *sturmijan (“to storm”), from Proto-Germanic *sturmijaną (“to storm”), from *sturmaz (“a storm”) (see etymology 1) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives from strong verbs, with a sense of ‘to cause to do [the action of the verb]’). The Middle English word did not survive into modern English.
3. The noun is derived from verb etymology 2, verb sense 2.3 (“to violently assault (a fortified position or stronghold, a building, etc.) with the aim of gaining control of it”).
4. Cognates
5. * Dutch stormen (“to bluster, storm”)
6. * German stürmen (“to rage, storm; to assault, attack”)
7. * Icelandic storma (“to storm”)
8. * Low German stormen (“to storm”)
9. * Swedish storma (“to bluster, storm”) See: Old English '
styrman', Proto-Germanic '
*sturmijaną', Dutch '
stormen', German, old spelling '
stürmen', Icelandic '
storma', Low Saxon 'stormen', Swedish '
storma'.