Etymologically
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adventurous

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Pronunciation

  • US: /ædˈvɛn.t͡ʃɚ.əs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English aventurous, also auntrous and adventurous,[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman aventurous, also aventurus, and Old French aventuros, aventureus,[5][6][7][8] now aventureux,[5][7][9] formed from aventure with the suffix -eus, -ous.[5][9][8] The Anglo-Norman adjective is recorded from 1194–99 with the senses "fated", "uncertain", "dangerous" and "seeking adventure".[6] The d of the modern spelling was restored after the Latin prefix ad-, as in adventure;[3][5] the OED also compares aventuroso, aventuroso and avventuroso.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seeking adventure; bold, daring: about 1330, in the romance Sir Degare.[5] Etymonline gives "hazardous" as the first sense, from the mid-14th century.[7]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word covered both sides of chance: "full of risk, perilous" (before 1375)[5][7] and "happening by chance, accidental", the main sense in the Middle English Dictionary, used by Chaucer in his Boece and obsolete by the end of the 16th century.[2][5][7][8] The idea of rashness, a person too ready to take risks, is recorded from the 15th century,[5][7] and Johnson (1755) defined the word first as inclined to adventures, and so bold and daring.[10] From 1617 an adventurous life or journey was one full of incident.[5] The modern sense of a person, or a work, willing to try something new and unconventional dates from the 19th century: of a person from 1824 and of a product or activity from 1841.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1330 – seeking adventure; bold, daring.[5]
  • before 1375 – full of risk; hazardous.[5][7]
  • c. 1390 – happening by chance, accidental (obsolete by 1595).[5][2]
  • c. 1475 – rash, prone to take risks.[5]
  • 1617 – full of incident.[5]
  • 1824 – of a person, willing to try new or unconventional things.[5]
  • 1841 – of a product or activity, innovative, experimental.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Willing to take risks and seek new and exciting experiences; bold, daring: an adventurous traveller.[3][11][5]
  2. Involving danger or risk; hazardous.[11][5]
  3. Full of incident or adventure: an adventurous voyage.[5]
  4. Willing to try new ideas or methods; innovative or unconventional: an adventurous menu.[5]
  5. (obsolete, 1390–1595) Happening by chance; accidental.[5][2][8]

Word family

  • adventurously
  • adventurousness
  • nonadventurous

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins