Added 8 October 2026
risk
/ɹɪsk/ noun
In Latin: perīculum Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about risk at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.
There is risk of being brutalized, arrested, imprisoned and tortured, all because I want you to know the truth about this matter.
- The magnitude of possible loss consequent to a decision or event.
- The potential negative effect of an event, determined by multiplying the likelihood of the event occurring with its magnitude should it occur.
verb
Origin
From earlier risque, from Middle French risque, from Old Italian risco (“risk”) (modern Italian rischio) and rischiare (“to run into danger”). Displaced native Old English pleoh (“risk”) and plēon (“to risk”). 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”). A few dictionaries express more certainty.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)