Attempt comes from Latin attemptāre — 'to try, to test'. It shares a root with tempt and temptation, which originally meant testing rather than enticing.
From Old French atempter, from Latin attemptāre meaning 'to try, to test, to tamper with', composed of ad- 'to, towards' + temptāre 'to feel, to test, to try'. Latin temptāre is also the source of tempt — originally meaning 'to test' rather than 'to entice'. The connection reveals an older worldview: every attempt is a kind of testing, a probing of what is possible. The same root produced contempt (testing thoroughly
Attempt and tempt are siblings — both from Latin temptāre meaning 'to test'. When the devil tempts someone, the original sense was testing their resolve, not luring them. Every attempt is a test of what is possible. And tentative? It means you are still in the testing phase, not yet committed.