Why Do We Say 'Adventure'?

I’m sometimes fascinated to discover common words whose origins are not precisely what I had assumed. One of them, in particular, always puts me in mind of a favorite quotation from "The Princess Bride": “You keep using that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means.”

The word “adventure” is used so broadly that it is often taken for granted. Colloquially, many associate it with an exciting journey, but when contemplating its etymology, the natural instinct suggests its closest cousin might be “advent,” from the Latin "adventus" (1125-1175). Yet, while the words are certainly related, they are more like distant cousins than siblings. While it is true that “adventure” was born later, it is derived from the Latin "advenīre." Following the roots deeper, the words share etymological DNA, as "advenīre" means “to arrive.” But by instead moving forward with them, following the branches instead of the roots, we find further separation.

'Adventure' is not the beginning of the journey, but the perilous travels themselves.

The use of “advent” to describe the four week season leading up to Christmas on the Christian calendar goes back to the 12^th century, but its usage to refer to an onset or arrival, such as “the advent of the industrial age,” did not enter the language until the mid-18^th century.

The word “aventure,” without the “d,” entered the lexicon around 1200 CE, borrowed from Old French and used to refer to something that happened by chance or luck. An understanding of adventure as something rife with risk and danger developed about a century later, and by 1400 CE, the common understanding of "aventure" as a “perilous undertaking” had taken hold. Later in the 15^th century, the “d” was restored to the word, settling into our modern spelling.

Following this evolution, it seems clear that “adventure” was neither inspired by the 12^th century religious usage of “advent” or to have in turn inspired the 18^th century onset of “advent.” Thus, “adventure” is not the beginning of the journey, but the perilous travels themselves. I confess I once assumed otherwise. This leads me to an element of the word’s origins that many recountings of its etymology manage to leave out, which is remarkable, given its pertinence.

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