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Origin and history of risk

risk(n.)

1660s, risque, "hazard, danger, peril, exposure to mischance or harm," from French risque (16c.), from Italian risco, riscio (modern rischio), from riscare "run into danger," a word of uncertain origin.

The Englished spelling is recorded by 1728. Spanish riesgo and German Risiko are Italian loan-words. The commercial sense of "hazard of the loss of a ship, goods, or other properties" is by 1719; hence the extension to "chance taken in an economic enterprise."

Paired with run (v.) from 1660s. Risk aversion is recorded from 1942; risk factor from 1906; risk management from 1963; risk-taker from 1892.

also from 1660s

risk(v.)

1680s, "expose to chance of injury or loss," from risk (n.), or from French risquer, from Italian riscare, rischaire, from the noun. By 1705 as "venture upon, take the chances of." Related: Risked; risks; risking.

also from 1680s

Entries linking to risk

risky(adj.)

"attended with risk, dangerous," 1825, from risk (n.) + -y (2). Riskful in same sense is from 1793. Related: Riskiness. Riskless is attested by 1818.

risque(adj.)

"tending toward impropriety," 1867, from French risqué, past participle of risquer "to risk" (see risk (v.)).

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Trends of risk

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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hazard

c. 1300, name of a game at dice, from Old French hasard, hasart "game of chance played with dice," also "a throw of six in dice" (12c.), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Spanish azar "an unfortunate card or throw at dice," which is said to be from Arabic az-zahr (for al-zahr) "

jeopardy

late 14c., jupartie , ioparde, etc., "danger, risk;" earlier "a cunning plan, a stratagem" (c. 1300), from or based on Old French jeu parti "a lost game," more correctly "a divided game, game with even chances" (hence "uncertainty"). The sense perhaps developed in Anglo-French. T

gamble

"risk something of value on a game of chance," 1726 (implied in gambling), from a dialectal survival of Middle English gammlen, variant of gamenen "to play, jest, be merry," from Old English gamenian "to play, joke, pun," from gamen (see game (n.)), with form as in fumble, etc. O

perilous

dangerous" (Modern French périlleux), from Latin periculosus "dangerous, hazardous," from periculum "a danger, attempt, risk...," with instrumentive suffix -culum and first element from PIE *peri-tlo-, suffixed form of root *per- (3) "to try, risk....

plight

"danger, risk" (see plight (n.2)), from Proto-Germanic *plehti-, which ultimately is perhaps from PIE root *dlegh- "to engage...The notion is "to put (something -- honor, troth) in danger or risk of forfeiture;" it is rarely used of physical things....

adventure

c. 1200, aventure, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from fem. of adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to,

seek

Middle English sēchen "go in search or quest of; strive for, try to attain," from Old English secan, seocan "search for; pursue, chase; long for, wish for, desire; look for, expect from," influenced by Old Norse soekja, both from Proto-Germanic *sokjanan (source also of Old Saxon

try

c. 1300, "examine judiciously, discover by evaluation, test;" mid-14c., "sit in judgment of," also "attempt to do," from Anglo-French trier (13c.), from Old French trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from Gallo-Roman *triare, of unknown origin. The ground sense is "separate out (th

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