azzardo

Forms

azzardo m (plural azzardi)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French hasard (“chance; risk”),^{[2][3][4][1][5]} earlier from Old French hasart,^[1] which is from Arabic اَلزَّهْر (az-zahr, “the dice”), the plural noun زَهْر (zahr) with the article.^[3][4][1] Nocentini has the Arabic word reach French through Spanish azar (“an unlucky throw of the dice”).^[3][6] In Old French the word meant a die, a particular throw, a dice game, a game of chance and then chance itself.^[7] Meyer-Lübke rejects the explanation given by William of Tyre, from the name of a castle in Palestine.^[7]

The same Arabic word gave Old Occitan azar, Catalan atzar and Portuguese azar.^[7] Without the article it gave zara, a dice game played in Italy from the 13th century to the Renaissance.^[3][2] Nocentini takes that word from زَهْرَة (zahra, “die”), properly “flower”, perhaps from a flower painted on one face of the die.^[3][2] The French word also gave German Hasard and the English word hazard.^[3] The phrase gioco d'azzardo is a calque of French jeu de hasard (1538).^[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before the Italian word, Salimbene's Medieval Latin chronicle (1281–1288) has ludere ed açardum “to play at zara”, and zarro appears between 1433 and 1491.^[2] Nocentini dates azzardo to 1513, GRADIT and Zingarelli to 1644, and DELI to 1653 (Morosini).^[3][4][9][2] GRADIT's first sense is “risk, danger”.^[4] DELI defines it as a set of chance circumstances that may bring risk and danger.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th and 18th centuries azzardo meant risk and venture (Corsini writes of imprese di minore azzardo, “enterprises of lesser risk”) and also chance or fate, a sense Magalotti, Muratori and Leopardi used and that is now obsolete.^[10][11][9] The verb azzardare “to risk” is recorded from 1553, azzardoso from 1647–1648 and azzardato “rash” from 1770.^[2] Tommaseo already noted that giuochi d'azzardo was the only form everyone understood.^[11]

The word also named a game of dice between a banker and several players.^[12][4] Today it is above all an action whose outcome is risky, and in economics azzardo morale translates “moral hazard”, the readiness to take risks whose costs fall on others.^[8][9]

Timeline

• 1281–1288 – Salimbene's Medieval Latin chronicle has ludere ed açardum.^[2]
• 1513 – Nocentini's date for azzardo.^[3]
• 1538 – French jeu de hasard is recorded.^[2]
• 1553 – Azzardare “to risk” is recorded.^[2]
• 1644 – GRADIT's date for the sense “risk, danger”.^[4][9]
• 1653 – Morosini uses azzardo.^[2]
• 1770 – Baretti uses azzardato “rash”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Risk, danger: a situation whose outcome depends on chance: sfidare l'azzardo.^[4][8][9][1]
2. A rash or risky act: Partire senza benzina è stato un vero azzardo.^{[4][8][6][12]}
3. (games) Originally, a game of dice between a banker and several players: gioco d'azzardo is a gambling game in which winning depends on chance, not skill.^[4][12][8]
4. (obsolete) Chance, fate.^{[4][6][9][10]}

Word family

• azzardare
• azzardato
• azzardoso

Related words

• zara
• French hasard
• English hazard

Usage notes

Giocare d'azzardo means to gamble, and figuratively to take a great risk.^[13][4] Prati notes that the double ⟨zz⟩ is voiced, /dz/.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 91