hazard (English)

Where does "hazard" come from?

The English verb 'hazard' traces back to the Middle English 'hasard'[1][2]. This term was adopted from the Old French 'hasart', which originally referred to 'a game of dice'[1][3]. That Old French form itself ultimately derives from the Arabic 'az-zahr' meaning 'the dice'[1][2][3]. The word reflects a history of linguistic adaptation, where the Arabic term for dice passed through French to denote a game of chance before evolving into the modern English verb meaning to expose something to risk or venture[1].

Open questions

• The Old French form 'hasart' was likely adapted from the Arabic source by adding the French suffix '-art'. [3]

Full etymology tree

• hazard (English), 'To expose to chance; to take a risk.'
  • inherited hasard (Middle English), 'hazard (dice game, often gambled on)'
    • inherited hasart (Old French), 'a score of six in a game of hazard'
      • derived اَلزَّهْر (az-zahr) (Arabic)
      • suffix -art (Old French), 'used to form nouns or adjectives, often with pejorative meanings'

Ancestors

• hasard (Middle English)
• hasart (Old French)
• زهر (Arabic)

Cognates and doublets

• azar (Portuguese)
• azar (Spanish)

Descendants and derived words

• hazard a guess (English)
• unhazarding (English)

Sources

1. hazard (English) - Wiktionary
2. hasard (Middle English) - Wiktionary
3. hasart (Old French) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris