'attemptive' originates from English, specifically formed from the word 'attempt' plus the adjectival suffix '-ive'. The root 'attempt' ultimately comes from Latin 'attemptare', where the prefix 'ad-' (in the form 'at-') meant 'to/toward' and 'temptare' meant 'to try/test'.

'attemptive' developed from the English noun/verb 'attempt', which changed from Old French/Middle English forms: Latin 'attemptare' > Old French/Old Provençal (attemper/atempter variants) > Middle English 'attempen'/'attempten' > modern English 'attempt', then the suffix '-ive' (from Latin '-ivus' via Old French '-if') was added to form 'attemptive'.

Initially the root meant 'to try or test'; over time the derived adjective came to mean 'relating to or characteristic of an attempt', often with a sense of tentativeness or provisionality.