Etymologically
Log in

aventura

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Spanish word aventura

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1200 Almerich, La fazienda de Ultra Mar, in a 13th-century copy More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin *adventura
Ultimate origin
Latin veniō

Pronunciation

  • /abenˈtuɾa/, [a.β̞ẽn̪ˈt̪u.ɾa][1]

Forms

aventura f (plural aventuras)[1] Old Spanish wrote aventura, auentura and abentura.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *adventūra (“things that are going to happen”), the neuter plural of adventūrus, the future active participle of adveniō (“to arrive, come; to happen”), used as a noun and later taken as a feminine singular.[4][1][5][6] The Latin verb is formed with ad- on veniō (“to come”), and Corominas lists the word among the derivatives of venir, beside ventura “fortune”, from ventūra.[7][8][9] The Diccionario de Autoridades saw in it that noun with a prefixed particle.[10]

The same word is Portuguese aventura, Galician aventura, Asturian aventura, Catalan aventura, Occitan aventura, Old French aventure and Italian avventura.[1][11][12] Machado and Houaiss derive the Portuguese word from French aventure, while Nascentes calls it semi-learned.[13][14][15] According to the REW the Old French word took the sense “adventure” in the romances of chivalry and spread with them to other languages.[16] It is cognate with adventure.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest hit in the CDH is in the Fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy), and Corominas's first record is a document of 1206 in Menéndez Pidal's Documentos lingüísticos.[3][7][8] In the earliest texts it mostly means “chance”, in the phrase por aventura “by chance, perhaps”: the Cortes de León of 1208 have si por aventura alguno de los onrrados omes “if by chance any of the honoured men”.[3][17] In the Fazienda Judith se metio en grant abentura “put herself in great danger”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Alfonso X's Siete Partidas explain the word as cosas que han de venir “things that are to come”.[18] His prose uses it for a strange event or exploit, chance, risk and good fortune: a man born under a certain sign will be a brave knight and metersa en muchas auenturas.[19] Knights ride buscando aventuras in the Gran conquista de Ultramar.[18] Covarrubias calls it a term of the books of chivalry for feats of arms, and records the proverb quien no se aventura, no ha ventura “nothing ventured, nothing gained”.[20] The Diccionario de Autoridades quotes the Quijote for the knight errant who goes à buscar las aventúras.[10]

The Academy's dictionary of 1770 recorded an old right of great lords in their lands, perhaps the presidency of tournaments, also called aventura.[21] The DLE adds a risky undertaking (embarcarse en aventuras) and a casual love affair, and the phrase de aventuras names a literary or film genre.[4] Baralt objected to a la aventura “at random” as a Gallicism.[22] In Cuba aventura was the fourth harvest of maize.[23]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – the Fazienda de Ultra Mar uses abentura “danger” (in a 13th-century copy).[3]
  • 1206 – the first record in Corominas, in a document.[7][8]
  • 1208 – the Cortes de León use por aventura “by chance”.[3]
  • 1220–1250 – the verb aventurar is first recorded.[8]
  • 1256–1263 – the Siete Partidas define it as things that are to come.[18]
  • 1528 – the first record from the Americas, in Nicaragua: en aventura de “in danger of”.[24]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias calls it a term of the books of chivalry.[20]
  • 1770 – the Academy records the old lordly right called aventura.[21]
  • 1884 – the Academy gives the etymology from Latin adventurus.[25]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An adventure: a strange or unusual event or episode: Nos contó las aventuras de su viaje por el desierto.[4][1]
  2. Chance, contingency.[4][26]
  3. An undertaking with an uncertain outcome or with risks, as in embarcarse en aventuras.[4][26]
  4. A casual love affair, a fling: Tuvo una aventura de verano.[4][1]
  5. (Cuba) The fourth harvest of maize.[23]

Word family

  • aventurar
  • aventurero
  • aventurilla

Usage notes

De aventuras describes a novel or film built on a sequence of tense, exciting episodes: novela de aventuras.[4][1] The old phrase por aventura meant “by chance” and “perhaps”.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. aventura
  3. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. aventura
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. aventura
  5. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 101
  6. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. aventura
  7. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 770
  8. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. venir
  9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 498
  11. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. aventura
  12. ^ Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (2000), Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana, Uviéu: ALLA; online at https://mas.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu, p. s.v. aventura
  13. ^ Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. 353
  14. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. aventura
  15. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. aventura
  16. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 216
  17. ^ a b Boggs, R. S.; Kasten, Lloyd; Keniston, Hayward; Richardson, H. B. (1946), Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, 2 vols., Chapel Hill, N.C., p. 62
  18. ^ a b c Alonso Pedraz, Martín (1986), Diccionario medieval español: desde las Glosas Emilianenses y Silenses (s. X) hasta el siglo XV, 2 vols., Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, p. 458
  19. ^ Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. aventura
  20. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 244
  21. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1770), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed., vol. I: A–B, Madrid: Joachín Ibarra, p. 1, 403
  22. ^ Baralt, Rafael María (1855), Diccionario de galicismos, Madrid: Imprenta de J. Cruzado, p. 109
  23. ^ a b Malaret, Augusto (1946), Diccionario de americanismos, 3rd ed., Buenos Aires: Emecé, p. 123
  24. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. aventura
  25. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 123
  26. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. aventura

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Aventura.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/aventura. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·