adventure

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ədˈven.tʃə/, US /ədˈven.tʃɚ/, /æd-/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English aventure, borrowed from Old French aventure (“chance, occurrence”),^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *adventūra “a thing about to happen”,^[3][5] from adventūrus, the future participle of Latin advenīre (“to come to, arrive”),^[2][6] from ad- “to” and venīre “to come”.^[2] The -d- was restored from Latin in the 15th and 16th centuries, a respelling that did not last in French.^[2][3] It is related to advent and venture, a 15th-century shortened variant.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

What happens by chance, fortune or luck: about 1200 in Etymonline, about 1230 in the OED, before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle according to Barnhart.^[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century it also meant a wonder or marvel.^[2] The meaning developed through “risk, danger” (about 1300) and “perilous undertaking” (late 14th century) to “an exciting or remarkable incident” (1560s).^[2][8][5] Peradventure, by chance, is from 1297.^[7] The verb, to risk the loss of, is from about 1300.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – chance, fortune.^[2]
• 1297 – per adventure.^[7]
• c. 1300 – risk, danger.^[2]
• c. 1300 – verb, to risk.^[2]
• late 14th century – a perilous undertaking.^[2]
• 1560s – an exciting experience.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An unusual, exciting and often dangerous experience.
2. Excitement and risk: a sense of adventure.
3. A risky enterprise.

Verb

1. (archaic) To risk or dare.

Word family

• adventureful
• adventurism
• coadventure
• unadventuring
• peradventure
• adventurer
• adventuress
• adventure playground

Related words

• advent
• adventurous
• misadventure
• venture

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press