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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

chance

/t͡ʃɑːns/ [t͡ʃʰɑːns]
An opportunity or possibility.

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    • derived
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    • meaning component
    • sound component
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadere (“to fall, to die, to happen, occur”). Doublet of cadence and cadenza.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English chancen, chauncen, from the noun (see above).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishchauncen
      • partMiddle English-en
        • inheritedOld English-an
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*-aną
          • inheritedProto-West Germanic*-an
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*-janą
        • derivedOld English-an
        • inheritedOld English-en
          • inheritedProto-West Germanic*-īn
          • inheritedProto-West Germanic*-ini
        • derivedOld English-on
        • derivedProto-Indo-European*pleḱ- “to fold, plait, weave”
          • derivedProto-Indo-European*pel- “skin, animal hide”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishchaunce
      • borrowedAnglo-Normancheance
        • inheritedVulgar Latin*cadentia
          • partLatincadēns “falling”
            • derivedLatincadō “fall”
              • inheritedProto-Italic*kadō
                • derivedProto-Indo-European*ḱad- “to fall”
          • partLatin-ia “abstract noun suffix”
            • derivedLatin-ius
              • derivedOld Latin-ios
            • derivedAncient Greek-ῐᾰ “-y”
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*-ih₂
    • rootProto-Indo-European*ḱh₂d- “to fall”

    Related: English cadence (doublet), English cadenza (doublet)

    Meanings

    noun
    1. An opportunity or possibility.
    2. Random occurrence; luck.
    3. The probability of something happening.
    4. probability; possibility.
    5. What befalls or happens to a person; their lot or fate.
    adj
    1. Happening by chance, casual.
    adv
    1. Perchance; perhaps.
    verb
    1. To happen by chance, to occur.
    2. To befall; to happen to.
    3. To try or risk.
    4. To discover something by chance.
    5. To rob, cheat or swindle someone.
    6. To take an opportunity from someone; to cut a queue.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: chance