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. a. something that happens unpredictably without discernible human intention or observable cause b. the assumed impersonal purposeless determiner of unaccountable happenings ; luck <

an outcome decided by chance

> c. the fortuitous or incalculable element in existence ; contingency 2. a situation favoring some purpose ; opportunity <

needed a chance to relax

> 3. a fielding opportunity in baseball 4. a. the possibility of a particular outcome in an uncertain situation; also the degree of likelihood of such an outcome <

a small chance of success

> b. plural the more likely indications <

chances are he's already gone

> 5. a. risk <

not taking any chances

> b. a raffle ticket • chance adjective II. verb (chanced; chancing) Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. a. to take place, come about, or turn out by chance ; happen <

it chanced to rain that day

> b. to have the good or bad luck <

we chanced to meet

> 2. to come or light by chance <

they chanced upon a remote inn

> transitive verb 1. to leave the outcome of to chance 2. to accept the hazard of ; risk <

knew the trip was dangerous but decided to chance it

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