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RISK
Definition of RISK
noun
The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From earlier risque, from Middle French risque, from Old Italian risco (“risk”) (modern Italian rischio) and rischiare (“to run into danger”). Displaced native Old English pleoh (“risk”) and plēon (“to risk”). Most dictionaries consider the etymology of these Italian terms uncertain, but some suggest they perhaps come from Vulgar Latin *resecum (“that which cuts, rock, crag”) (> Medieval Latin resicu), from Latin resecō (“cut off, loose, curtail”, verb), in the sense of that which is a danger to boating or shipping; or from Ancient Greek ῥιζικόν (rhizikón, “root, radical, hazard”). A few dictionaries express more certainty. Collins says the Italian risco comes from Ancient Greek ῥίζα (rhíza, “cliff”) due to the hazards of sailing along rocky coasts. The American Heritage says it probably comes from Byzantine Greek ῥιζικό, ριζικό (rhizikó, rizikó, “sustenance obtained by a soldier through his own initiative, fortune”), from Arabic رِزْق (rizq, “sustenance, that which God allots”), from Classical Syriac ܪܘܙܝܩܐ,ܪܙܩܐ (rezqā, rōzīqā, “daily ration”), from Middle Persian [script needed] (rōzīg) (whence Classical Persian روزِی (rōzī)), from Middle Persian [script needed] (rōz, “day”) (whence Classical Persian روز (rōz)), from Old Persian 𐎼𐎢𐎨𐏃 (raučah) (cognate with Sanskrit रोचस् (rocas, “light, lustre”)), from Proto-Iranian *ráwčah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ráwčas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *léwk-os, from *lewk- (“bright; to shine”) + *-os (noun suffix). Karla Mallette derives the word from Arabic رِزْق (rizq, “sustenance, that which God allots”) via Sabir. Cognate with Spanish riesgo, Portuguese risco
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Italian
- Middle French
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
10th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
1.7%
of traced words share this origin (1,308)
branch · 12.9% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, RISK · 8 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Ancient Greek, Arabic, Latin, Old English, Persian, Portuguese, Proto-Indo-European, Sanskrit and 1 more.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
RISK in OUTLIER
It has fitted 1 board so far. 19 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 153, 20 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 5 days.
First found by a player on Day 24, 13 June 2026.
Built from these letters
RISK starts with R and ends with K. Sorted, its letters read IKRS - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
3 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start RISK
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found RISK?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 153 - and most players walked straight past it.
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