Other forms: hazards
A hazard is something with the power to cause harm. A fire hazard, hazard warning, a serious hazard.
In safety work a hazard is the thing itself and the risk is the chance of it hurting anybody — a cliff is a hazard whether or not you go near it. The word began as a dice game, which is where the sense of chance comes from. Note hazardous.
1nounhazardSomething with the power to cause harm.
“Wet leaves on the road are a real hazard for cyclists.”
hazard is a danger.
Old French hasart names a game of dice, probably from Arabic az-zahr, the dice. The sense moved from chance to danger.
Arabic
زهر — the dice
Old French
hasart — a game of dice
Middle English
hasard
English, today
hazard
From Middle English hasard, from Old French hasart (“a game of dice”) (noun), hasarder (verb), from Arabic زهر (“the dice”). Compare Spanish azar, Portuguese azar.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA