1) It’s just plain ARmalite.
2) “Assault weapon” is a term defined by communist politicians in America in various pieces of anti-constitutional legislation. It should not be confused with
3) “Assault rifle”, a translation of “sturmgewehr”, which does refer specifically to a carbine capable of automatic fire.
Thank you! When Mark Westrom ran the company, they used 'AR stands for ArmaLite' (or something very similar) as an advertising slogan - and a reminder of the company's history. The current owners, and other folks who claim 'AR means ArmaLite rifle', apparently never heard of the AR9 (shotgun), AR17 (shotgun), or AR24 (handgun)...