lunge Look up lunge at Dictionary.com
1735, "a thrust with a sword," originally a fencing term, shortened from allonge, from Fr. allonger "to extend, thrust," from O.Fr. alongier "to lengthen, make long," from à "to" + O.Fr. long, from L. longus "long" (see long (adj.)). The verb is attested from 1809; the sense of "to make a sudden forward rush" is from 1821.