▪ I. risk, n.
Also 7 resque, 7–9 risque.
[a. F. risque (17th cent.), ad. It. risco (see risco and cf. risgo), rischio, of uncertain origin.]
1. a. Hazard, danger; exposure to mischance or peril. Freq. const. of.
| α 1661 Blount Glossogr., Risque, peril, jeopardy, danger, hazard, chance. 1696 Vanbrugh Relapse i. (1708) 10 To cut my Elder Brother's Throat, without the Risque of being hang'd for him. 1740 Cibber Apol. (1756) I. 195 Till they had been assur'd they might do it without the risque of an insult to their modesty. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §103 The risque of which would have been prevented. 1808 Scott Marm. i. xxi, Little he loves such risques I know. 1862 Knight Pop. Hist. Eng. IV. 80 They knew how infinite were the risques of democracy becoming universal licence. |
| β 1741 Middleton Cicero I. v. 353 Flaccus.. for my sake slighted the risk of his fortunes and life. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 705, I therefore recommend, though at the risk Of popular disgust,..The cause of piety. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xxxviii, Several witnesses were called upon to prove the risks to which Bois-Guilbert exposed himself. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 310 There would be great risk of lamentable change in the character of our public men. 1877 Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. i. 7 This extraordinary risk, from which the city..escaped. |
b. Freq. in
phr. to run a or the (also † one's) risk. (Also in sense 2.)
| α 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 293 Rather than run their resque or incur his displeasure they oft-times condescend to a reasonable mart. 1685 Burnet tr. More's Utopia 130 They consider the Risque that those run, who undertake such Services. 1717 S. Centlivre Bold Stroke for Wife i. i, He that runs the risque deserves the fair. 1773 Mrs. Chapone Improv. Mind (1774) I. 154 You will at least have run no risque in the search. |
| β 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., There is a great Risk run in letting Goods go upon Credit to great Lords. 1741 Middleton Cicero II. vii. 74 He must necessarily run the risk of many [battles] before he could gain his end. 1770 Junius Lett. xli. (1788) 230 If the jury run any risk of punishment. 1808 Scott in Lockhart I. i. 3 He lost all he had in the world, and..run a narrow risk of being hanged. 1843 F. E. Paget Pageant 38 Why am I to run the risk of scarlet fever being brought into the house? 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1875) III. 162 It was no mark of wisdom..to run risks which might be avoided. |
† c. A venturous course.
Obs.—1| 1692 South Serm. (1697) I. 215 An insolent despiser of Discipline, nurtur'd into Impudence..by a long Risque of Licence and Rebellion. |
d. at (or † in) risk,
at high (etc.) risk: in danger, subject to hazard. Also as
adj. (See also sense 2 c.)
| 1901 ‘L. Malet’ Counsel of Perfection xi. 243 Whether the capital owned by his better nature was not in risk of being exhausted—whether the drafts made on it might not eventually be dishonoured. 1965 New Statesman 10 Dec. 951/2 (Advt.), The appointment should be of interest to those who are prepared to assist in training child care officers and actively supervising casework of ‘at risk’ families. 1966 Listener 10 Feb. 199/1 It is necessary to know both the number of legitimate children born to women in this age-group and the number of married women at risk. 1972 Daily Tel. 5 May 6/8 Eight thousand historic churches in England are at risk through damage and decay. 1973 Sci. Amer. July 20/2 Women who were at high risk of bearing retarded infants. 1977 National Trust Spring 9/1 Soon nearly half our elms will be dead and the remainder all at risk. 1977 Lancet 23 July 203/1 The baby was considered to be at high risk. |
e. A person who is considered a liability or danger; one who is exposed to hazard. (Freq. with qualifying word.)
| 1948 [see clearance 5 c]. 1954 Manch. Guardian Weekly 22 Apr. 3/1 A loyalty risk is a man whose paramount allegiance to the United States is in doubt. A security risk is one who may be consciously the most adamant patriot but whose judgment or tactlessness may cause him to make decisions or disclose information that could harm the national security. 1961 Lancet 12 Aug. 328/2 That patients classified as ‘poor risks’ according to Russek's criteria..show a higher mortality-rate is no cause for wonder. 1976 W. Greatorex Crossover 32 He was frozen out... He was treated as a security risk..but it didn't bother him. |
2. a. The chance or hazard of commercial loss,
spec. in the case of insured property or goods. Also (
freq. without article), the chance that is accepted in economic enterprise and considered the source of (an entrepreneur's) profit.
all risks: see
all a. E. 13.
Cf. uncertainty 4.
| α 1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade 239 To avoid the Loss or the Risque of having any Goods by him, out of Time. 1750 Beawes Lex Mercat. (1752) 261 A Contract or Agreement, by which one or more Particulars..take on them the Risque of the Value of the Things insured. Ibid. 284 He undertook a Risque of two or three Months only. |
| β 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., The Risk of Merchandizes commences from the Time they are carried aboard. 1755 N. Magens Insurances I. p. vi, An Insurance made on Risks in Foreign Ships. 1776 Adam Smith Wealth of Nations I. i. x. 136 The ordinary rate of profit always rises more or less with the risk. 1846 Greener Sci. Gunnery 336 It seems strange such a thing should be, a contractor without a risk or duty. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. I. ii. xv. 479 The difference between the interest and the gross profit remunerates the exertions and risks of the undertaker. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 163/1 Fire insurance as a business consists in undertaking a certain risk..in return for a comparatively small sum,..called the premium. 1921 F. H. Knight Risk, Uncertainty, & Profit ii. 41 The doctrine that profit is to be explained exclusively in terms of risk has been vigorously upheld. 1944 A. Cairncross Introd. Econ. vi. 76 The more fickle the demand, either from one season to another, or from year to year, the stronger will be the tendency to spread risks and steady production by diversifying output. 1977 B. Benjamin Gen. Insurance xi. 271 The mathematics of risk theory and of model building do not at present cover these kinds of business risks other than by incorporating past investment experience. |
b. (See
quot. 1841.)
| 1838 De Morgan Ess. Probab. 153 To find the mean risk of the sum or difference of any number of quantities determined by observation, add together the squares of all their mean risks, and extract the square root of the result. 1841 Penny Cycl. XX. 19/2 In the theory of Probabilities the risk of loss or gain means such a fraction of the sum to be lost or gained as expresses the chance of losing or gaining it. |
c. Law. In
phr. at (one's, etc.) risk, of merchandise, etc.: at the liability of a stated party. Also of persons, liable to repay loss or damage.
| 1798 Roots' Rep. I. 203 If it eventually proves insufficient to raise the sum due, it is the mortgagee's own fault and at his risque. 1887 Law Rep. Queen's Bench Div. XVIII. 65 The expression ‘at ship's risk’ cannot be strictly correct, because the ship has no risk. 1970 New Society 5 Feb. 209/1 He therefore should be at risk where the car causes damage. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
risk aversion,
risk-bearing,
risk category,
risk factor,
risk level,
risk management,
risk-taker,
risk-taking;
risk-free adj.;
risk analysis, the systematic investigation and forecasting of risks in business and commerce; similarly
risk–benefit analysis;
risk capital, money that is put up for speculative business investment;
risk money, (
a) an allowance made to a cashier to cover accidental deficits; (
b)
= risk capital above;
risk profile, a forecast of the probable range of hazards in an enterprise;
risk-rate, a rate of interest related to a degree of hazard in an enterprise.
| 1964 Harvard Business Rev. Jan.–Feb. 95 (heading) *Risk analysis in capital investment. 1977 R. E. Megill Introd. Risk Analysis xvi. 173 In the search for new oil and gas fields, risk analysis takes the judgments of explorationists and engineers and translates them into the language of probability. Risk analysis, thus, helps a manager make reasonable decisions. |
| 1964 W. S. Vickrey Metastatics & Macroecon. v. 88 The differential between long- and short⁓term interest rates thus requires both liquidity preference and *risk aversion to sustain it. 1972 Accountant 21 Sept. 349/2 Any application of probability theories to decision-making must have regard to the susceptibilities of the decision-maker, his own attitudes and those of his corporation—in particular, their ‘risk aversion factor’. |
| 1931 Economist 21 Nov. 957/1 The establishment of confidence, which would make possible a reduction of the premium on *risk-bearing. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 July 426/4 In discussing the reward of risk-bearing the author refers to the special information that some may have and to the riches of others, thus finding that ‘risk-taking surpluses’ accrue. |
| 1975 Physics Bull. May 203/2 One fears that until recently no such *risk-benefit analysis would have been attempted. 1976 Conservation News Nov.–Dec. 3/1 On risk/benefit analysis, where many people hold that value judgements are involved, common ground seems impossible to find. |
| 1948 Sun (Baltimore) 7 Apr. 19/1 He contended that newly saved *risk capital in 1946 and 1947 supplied only $700,000,000 of the $50,500,000,000 of new money required by American industry. 1962 Economist 19 May 693/1 ‘Incentives’ have not been dulled and ‘risk capital’ has not dried up. 1976 F. Zweig New Acquisitive Society i. vii. 69 The old acquisitiveness provided long-term risk-capital for industrial development. |
| 1973 Sci. Amer. Sept. 65/1 Women were assigned to one of four *risk categories. |
| 1971 Brit. Med. Bull. XXVII. 23/2 Does the prevalence of individual *risk factors..differ between soft-water and hard-water areas? |
| 1950 Mind LIX. 126 The ‘reactionaries’ are those who believe that scientific enquiries can proceed from *risk-free observational records immune from statistical tests. 1980 Sci. Amer. Mar. 33/3 People do not seek a risk-free society, but they do find it hard to manage risks that are not fully understood. |
| 1962 A. Battersby Guide to Stock Control iii. 28 We already have two possible figures... Why are these figures different from each other? Because they correspond to different *risk levels. 1970 New Scientist 15 Jan. 93/2 The risk-level of the former can be detected at interview. |
| 1963 Mehr & Hedges (title) *Risk management in the business enterprise. 1978 Financial Rev. (Austral.) 27 July 25/3 Risk Management, whatever you call it, is part and parcel of a big Insurance Broker's business. |
| 1849 J. W. Gilbart Banking (ed. 5) I. 262 To meet..deficiencies, some banks allow to each cashier a certain sum..which is called *risk-money. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 24 Nov. 2/3 He..was receiving {pstlg}3 15s. a month and 3s. a week for risk-money. 1944 H. A. Wallace Century of Common Man xiv. 70 A business man ought to be able to get his ‘risk money’ back before he has to pay too much in the way of taxation. 1969 Daily Tel. 29 Dec. 12/2 The oilmen are also aware that if the Gas Council is pushed further into exploration the Government will have to provide ‘risk money’ on a large scale. |
| 1969 J. Argenti Managem. Techniques 233 When the forecast is made, an estimate of the probability of the range of errors is also made and this is used to calculate the ‘*risk profile’ of the project. |
| 1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) iii. xvi. 187 Capital will not be forthcoming for any enterprise unless it can expect (a) a normal rate of interest..and (b) in addition to that a ‘*risk-rate’ corresponding to the chance of loss in the particular business; and this risk-rate must vary according to the conditions of every industry and of every concern. |
| 1944 R. Lehmann Ballad & Source iii. 148 That is just a phrase the petty-cautious use against the fiery ones, the *risk-takers. 1957 A. C. L. Day Outl. Monetary Econ. xxxviii. 491 Willing risk-takers (e.g. settlers in new countries). 1979 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 25 Oct. 49/2 McCagg's attempt is evidently to reconcile the sober wartime Stalin..with the postwar risk-taker. |
| 1921 F. H. Knight Risk, Uncertainty, & Profit ii. 46 If risk were exclusively of the nature of a known chance or mathematical probability, there could be no reward in *risk-taking. 1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment xxiv. 372 Diminishing unduly the motive towards risk-taking. 1948 Sun (Baltimore) 7 Apr. 19/1 Mr. Hooper..explained that eager risk taking by individual investors is essential to the smooth operation of the free enterprise system. 1975 ‘E. Lathen’ By Hook or by Crook xiv. 132 ‘He's always taken big chances.’.. ‘That's the risk-taking his children are alarmed about.’ |
▪ II. risk, v. Also 7–9
risque.
[ad. F. risquer, ad. older It. riscare, rischiare (now risicare, arrischiare), f. risco risk n.] 1. trans. To hazard, endanger; to expose to the chance of injury or loss.
| α a 1687 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Restoration Wks. (1775) 7 Lately the King risqu'd both his kingdoms for offering to imprison Philander. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 29 §2 One can scarce be in the most humanized society without risquing one's life. 1759 Johnson Idler No. 67 ¶2 To risque the certainty of little for the chance of much. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 271 To risque the whole fortune of the state. 1811 L. M. Hawkins C'tess & Gertr. I. 146 He should risque his lordship's favor for ever. |
| β 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v., In Matters of Insurance, 'tis a Maxim, that all is never to be risk'd..in the same Vessel. 1741 Middleton Cicero II. viii. 164 He..was content to risk his reputation on the merit of it. 1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad Pref. p. xxv, That no person could appear with advantage in military actions who risked nothing by doing so. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxx, You are but losing your time, my friend, and risking your life. 1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preach. i. 4 In the great affairs of life we can afford to risk nothing. |
2. To venture upon, take the chances of.
| α 1705 Stanhope Paraphr. II. 294 Risquing the loss of Heaven. 1723 Gay Captives Prol., I wish some author careless of renown Would without formal prologue risque the town. 1781 Cowper Retirem. 255 Yet let a poet..Risque an intrusion on thy pensive mood. 1805 Med. Jrnl. XIV. 450, I did not think it prudent to risque a repetition of the introduction of the catheter. |
| β 1790 Bruce Source Nile II. 335 Nor had Emana Christos forces enough to risk a battle. 1803 Med. Jrnl. IX. 232 As men of eminence..sometimes risk hasty and incautious decisions. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 91 The people..were prepared to risk the sacrilege of confiscating the estates of the religious houses. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. (1894) viii. 188 For half an hour..we were risking sprained ankles across this..wilderness. |
3. To venture to bring
into some situation.
| 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 28 Would you risk our Angelica into such a fearful peril? 1781 Cowper Conversat. 371 We dare not risque them into public view. |
4. intr. To take or run risks.
rare—1.
| 1766 tr. Beccaria's Ess. Crimes xxxiii. (1793) 127 Men risque only in proportion to the advantage expected. |
Hence
ˈrisking vbl. n.| 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iv. 161 The risquing of twenty men,..was risquing the safety of the whole. |