Etymograph

English

adventure

Adventure comes from Old French aventure, from Vulgar Latin *adventūra, from Latin adveniō ‘to arrive’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-1‘to step, come’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yéti1‘to be coming’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷəniō1‘to come’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEveniō1‘to come’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadveniō1‘to arrive’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadventūrus1‘about to arrive’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*adventūra1‘what is about to happen’reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aventure1‘chance, adventure’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aventure1‘adventure; chance’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861adventure1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English adventure
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, London: Longman: “He loved excitement and adventure.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-Wiktionary, English adventure‘to step, come’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yétiWiktionary, English adventure‘to be coming’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷəniōWiktionary, English adventure‘to come’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEveniōWiktionary, English adventure‘to come’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadveniōWiktionary, English adventure‘to arrive’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadventūrusWiktionary, English adventure‘about to arrive’
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*adventūraWiktionary, English adventure‘what is about to happen’reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aventureWiktionary, English adventure‘chance, adventure’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aventureWiktionary, English adventure‘adventure; chance’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861adventureWiktionary, English adventure. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, London: Longman: “He loved excitement and adventure.”

The story

From Middle English aventure, aunter, anter, from Old French aventure, from Vulgar Latin *adventūra, from Latin adventūrus (‘about to arrive, (Vulgar Latin) about to happen’), future active participle of adveniō (‘to arrive’), which in the Romance languages took the sense of "to happen, befall" (see also advene).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Explore everything descended from *gʷem- →

Another origin of adventure

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-‘to come, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yéti‘to come’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷəniō‘to come’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEveniō‘come’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadveniōas advenīre‘arrive, come’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*adventūra‘event, fate, adventure’reconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aventure‘event, happening, adventure’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aventurer
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aventuren‘to undertake or attempt’
  10. Englishtodayadventure

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Today it means

noun A feeling of desire for new and exciting things.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “adventure”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- / adventure