Just for the edification of the ill-educated, the term "assault rifle" was coined by one Adolf Hitler... only in German it's "sturm gewher." Most notably represented by the German Gewehr 43.

Thus, nobody should be going into the root of the term "assault rifle" at this time.

The word "weapon" is generally accepted as an implement of assault against another human. But what's wrong with that? My M-1911 is most certainly a weapon if some individual decides to assault me. Otherwise, it's just a "firearm."

In either case, Nancy Pelosi could care less.