chance English · revision 3540

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1297|origins=la cadere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /tʃɑːns/, US /tʃæns/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|chaunce]], [[bor|fro|cheance|t=accident, chance, fortune; the falling of dice]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la-vul|*cadentia|t=that which falls out, a falling]], a term used in dice,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) from [[la|cadēns]], the present participle of [[m|la|cadere|t=to fall]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*kad-|t=to fall]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) and Merriam-Webster compares Sanskrit śad-, “to fall off”.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024) It is a doublet of [[cadence]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The way in which things happen, fortune; also one's luck or lot, and an opportunity: 1297,^(OED 1989) or about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that the senses “opportunity” and “randomness” are as old as the English record of the word and now crowd out its original sense “mere occurrence”.^(Etymonline) A fortuitous event is recorded from before 1300.^(OED 1989) The absence of any cause, chance viewed as a real agent, is from about 1400.^(Etymonline) In Middle English ''chance'' could also mean an accident.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb meant “to happen” from 1393, in Gower,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and “to come upon by chance” from 1536.^(OED 1989) “To risk, take the chances of” is from 1859,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and ''chance one's arm'', “to take a risk”, from 1889.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) The adjective “due to chance, casual” is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) In Yorkshire and Lincolnshire dialect a ''chance'', or ''chance-bairn'' in Scotland, was an illegitimate child.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1297 – fortune; an opportunity.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1300 – a chance event.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1393 – verb, to happen (Gower).^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – chance as a force.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1536 – verb, to come upon by chance.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1670s – adjective, casual.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1859 – verb, to risk.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1889 – ''chance one's arm''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The unpredictable element in events that seems to have no cause; [[luck]] or [[fortune]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The likelihood of something happening; [[probability]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # An accidental or unpredictable event.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A favourable set of circumstances; an [[opportunity]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A risk or hazard: ''take a chance''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Caused by chance; unexpected or casual.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To come about by chance; to happen.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To take the risk of.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chanceless]]

+ * [[chanceful]]

+ * [[happenchance]]

+ * [[bechance]]

+ * [[chance-medley]]

+ * [[chancer]]

+ * [[chancy]]

+ * [[perchance]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cadence]]

+ * [[accident]]

+ * [[decay]]

+ * [[occasion]]

+ * [[mischance]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary compares the adjective ''chance'', which stresses lack of premeditation, with ''random'', ''casual'', ''haphazard'' and ''desultory''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}