Etymologically
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adventure

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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
  • 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