hazard

The story

1. Arabic · derived fromاَلزَّهْر“the dice”
2. Old French · derived fromhasart“a game of dice”
3. Middle English · inherited fromhasard
4. English todayhazard

From Middle English hasard, from Old French hasart (“a game of dice”) (noun), hasarder (verb), from Arabic اَلزَّهْر (az-zahr, “the dice”). Compare Spanish azar, Portuguese azar.

First known use, by meaning

• from 14th c. A game of chance played with dice, usually for monetary stakes, popular mainly from 14th c. to 19th c.
• from 16th c. Chance; accident, unpredictability.
• from 16th c. The risk of some loss or harm; danger, peril, the chance of an adverse outcome.
• from 16th c. A situation involving such a risk of harm or loss; (later also) a person or object which poses such a risk, something seen as a source of danger or difficulty.
• from 16th c. Each of the various openings or galleries around the side of a court.
• 16th–17th c. Anything that is hazarded or risked, such as a stake in gambling.
• from 17th c. A stroke which results in potting a ball, whether the object ball (winning hazard) or the player's ball (losing hazard).
• from 18th c. Something which prevents free striking of the ball, such as a sand or water obstacle.