Chancing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Engaging in an unpredictable situation with potential rewards or losses involved
2. Taking an uncertain opportunity where outcomes can vary significantly depending on the circumstances
3. Involving the act of exposing oneself to possible danger or loss by proceeding without certainty of the outcome

Etymology: Chancing is the form of "chance" used for the act of taking a risk, and the verb grew from the noun. The noun came into Middle English from Old French "cheance", meaning accident, luck or fortune, which itself descended from Vulgar Latin "*cadentia", literally "falling". The Latin root "cadere" meant to fall, but also to happen or occur, so a chance was once something that simply fell out, as dice do. That is the surprising link: the same Latin verb sits behind "cadence", the rhythmic falling of a voice or phrase, and "cadenza", a flourish in a concerto. The two words are doublets, both arriving in English from the same source by different routes, one through French and one directly from Italian and Latin. The verb "chancen" followed in Middle English from the noun, so to chance something was originally to leave it to fortune. The sense of deliberately accepting a risk developed from that idea of trusting to luck.

Synonyms: risking, venturing, gambling