2 entries found for hazard.
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hazard[1,noun] hazard[2,verb]

Main Entry: ¹haz·ard
Pronunciation: haz-rd
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English hazard "game of chance," from early French hasard (same meaning), from Arabic az-zahr "the dice"
1 : a game of chance played with two dice
2 : ¹CHANCE 1, accident
3 : a source of danger <a fire hazard>
4 : an obstacle on a golf course
synonym see DANGER
Word History Hazard was at first a game of chance played with dice. The English word comes from an early form of French, in which the game was called hasard. This French word was probably borrowed during the time of the Crusades from Arabic az-zahr, meaning "the dice" or "one of the dice." The game was borrowed from the French by the English, and within a few centuries what had been a chance taken on the outcome of a throw of the dice could be any venture or risk. Now "chance" or "venture" and "risk" or "peril" are the usual meanings of hazard.