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Origin and history of adventure

adventure(n.)

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, reach, arrive at." This is from ad "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- "to go, come").

The meaning developed through "risk; danger" (a trial of one's chances), c. 1300, and "perilous undertaking" (late 14c.) to "novel or exciting incident, remarkable occurrence in one's life" (1560s).

Earlier it also meant "a wonder, a miracle; accounts of marvelous things" (13c.). The -d- was restored in English 15c.-16c.; in French the attempt to restore it at about the same time was rejected. Venture is a 15c. variant. German Abenteuer is a borrowing of the French word, apparently deformed whimsically by influence of Abend "evening."

adventure

adventure(v.)

c. 1300, aventuren, "to risk the loss of," from Old French aventurer (12c.) "wander, travel; seek adventure; happen by chance," from aventure (n.); see adventure (n.). Meaning "take a chance" is early 14c. Related: Adventured; adventuring.

adventure

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to adventure

venture(v.)

c. 1500, venturen, "to hazard the loss (of something), run a risk, risk one's life," shortened form of aventure, itself a form of adventure. The general sense of "to dare, to presume" is recorded from 1550s. Related: Ventured; venturing.

Nought venter nought have [Heywood, "Proverbs," 1546]
adventurer(n.)

late 15c., "one who plays at games of chance," agent noun from adventure (v.). The meaning "one who undertakes commercial ventures" is from c. 1600. The meaning "one who seeks adventures" is from 1660s. It often is used in a bad sense, "seeker of fortune by rash or underhanded means;" hence adventurism (1843, in early 20c. a term in communist jargon). Fem. form adventuress attested by 1754.

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adventurous
mid-14c., "hazardous;" late 14c., "occurring by chance" (senses now obsolete), from Old French aventuros "chance, accidental, fortuitous;" of persons, "devoted to adventure" (Modern French aventureux), from aventure (see adventure (n.)). In English the sense of "rash, risk-taking
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) "
stake
"pointed stick or post; stick of wood sharpened at one end for driving into the ground, used as part of a fence, as a boundary-mark, as a post to tether an animal to, or as a support for something (a vine, a tent, etc.)," Old English staca "pin, stake," from Proto-Germanic *stako
emprise
"enterprise, venture, adventure, undertaking," from Vulgar Latin *imprensa (source of Provenal empreza, Spanish empresa,...
saga
Properly a long narrative composition of Iceland or Norway in the Middle Ages featuring heroic adventure and fantastic journeys...
lark
"spree, frolic, merry adventure," 1811, slang, of uncertain origin....
Taser
American sci-fi/adventure novels, one of which was titled "Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle."...
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
escapade
1650s, "an escape from confinement," from French escapade (16c.) "a prank or trick," from Spanish escapada "a prank, flight, an escape," noun use of fem. past participle of escapar "to escape," from Vulgar Latin *excappare (see escape (v.)). Or perhaps the French word is via Ital
labor
c. 1300, "a task, a project" (such as the labors of Hercules); later "exertion of the body; trouble, difficulty, hardship" (late 14c.), from Old French labor "toil, work, exertion, task; tribulation, suffering" (12c., Modern French labeur), from Latin labor "toil, exertion; hards

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