Etymograph

English

risk

Risk comes from earlier English risque, from Middle French risque, from Old Italian risco ‘risk’ (and Italian rischiare).

  1. Old Italianmodernrisco1‘risk’
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600risque1
  3. English1500–presentrisque1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861risk1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English risk
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, London: Longman: “the imminent and constant risk of assassination, a risk…”.

Lineage

  1. Old ItalianmodernriscoWiktionary, English risk‘risk’
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600risqueWiktionary, English risk
  3. English1500–presentrisqueWiktionary, English risk
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861riskWiktionary, English risk. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, London: Longman: “the imminent and constant risk of assassination, a risk…”

The story

Most dictionaries consider the etymology of these Italian terms uncertain, but some suggest they perhaps come from Vulgar Latin *resecum (‘that which cuts, rock, crag’) (> Medieval Latin resicu), from Latin resecō (“cut off, loose, curtail”, verb), in the sense of that which is a danger to boating or shipping; or from Ancient Greek ῥιζικόν (rhizikón, “root, radical, hazard”).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. A few dictionaries express more certainty. Collins says the Italian risco comes from Ancient Greek ῥίζα (rhíza, “cliff”) due to the hazards of sailing along rocky coasts. The American Heritage says it probably comes from Byzantine Greek ῥιζικό, ριζικό (rhizikó, rizikó, “sustenance obtained by a soldier through his own initiative, fortune”), from Arabic رِزْق (rizq, “sustenance, that which God allots”), from Classical Syriac ܪܘܙܝܩܐ ,ܪܙܩܐ (rezqā, rōzīqā, “daily ration”), from Middle Persian [script needed] (rōzīg) (whence Classical Persian روزِی (rōzī)), from Middle Persian [script needed] (rōz, “day”) (whence Classical Persian روز (rōz)), from Old Persian 𐎼𐎢𐎨𐏃 (raučah) (cognate with Sanskrit रोचस् (rocas, “light, lustre”)), from Proto-Iranian *ráwčah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ráwčas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *léwk-os, from *lewk- (‘bright; to shine’) + *-os (noun suffix).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with risk, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut, cut off, sever’

  • saw ← sawe ← saga ← *sagu ← *sagō
  • design ← designen ← designer ← designō ← signō
  • sign ← signe ← seġn ← signum ← *segnom
  • ship ← chip ← sċip ← *skip ← *skipą
  • seal ← sel ← seel ← sigillum ← signum
  • sack ← siccus ← *siskʷos ← *siskus
  • scarlet ← escarlate ← scarlātum
  • sawyer
  • sax ← seax ← *sahs ← *sahsą
  • shingle ← shyngel ← sċindel ← *skindulā ← scindula
  • scythe ← sythe ← sīþe ← *sigiþi ← *sigiþiz
  • sich ← Січ ← сікти ← сѣчи́ ← сѣчи

116 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “risk”. 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 / Old Italian risco / risk