CHANCE

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia fall, from Latin cadent-, cadens, present participle of cadere to fall; perhaps akin to Sanskrit śad- to fall off Date: 14th century 1. something that happens unpredictably without discernible human intention or observable cause, the assumed impersonal purposeless determiner of unaccountable happenings ; luck , the fortuitous or incalculable element in existence ; contingency , a situation favoring some purpose ; opportunity , a fielding opportunity in baseball, 4. the possibility of a particular outcome in an uncertain situation, the more likely indications , 5. risk , a raffle ticket, ~ adjective II. verb (~d; chancing) Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. to take place, come about, or turn out by ~ ; happen , to have the good or bad luck , to come or light by ~ , transitive verb to leave the outcome of to ~, to accept the hazard of ; risk