Etymology Dictionary

ADVENTURE,  an accident, enterprise.  (F.,—L.)   [The older spelling is aventure, the F. prefix a- having been afterwards replaced by the corresponding Lat. prefix ad-.]   Sir T. More, Works, p. 761 e, has adventure as a verb.   The old form aventure is often cut down to auntre.   Rob. of Glouc. has to auenture at p. 70, but the sb. an auntre at p. 64.   The sb. auenture, i.e. occurrence, is in the Ancren Riwle, p. 340.—O.F. and mod. F. aventure, an adventure.—Lat. aduenturus, about to happen, of which the fem. aduentura was used as a sb. (res, a thing, being understood), and is represented in Italian by the form avventura.—Lat. aduenire, to come to, happen; fut. part. act. aduenturus.—Lat. ad, to; and uenire, to come, cognate with E. come.   See Come.   Der. adventure, vb., adventur-er, adventur-ous, adventur-ous-ness. [†]

ADDENDA

Line 7.   The O.F. aventure is derived rather from Low L. aduentura, an adventure, a sb. analogous to Lat. sbs. in -tura.   Latin abounds with such sbs., ending (nearly always) in -tura or -sura; see a list of some in Roby's Latin Grammar, 3rd ed. pt. i. § 893.   Roby describes them as 'Substantives; all feminine, with similar formation to that of the future participle.   These words denote employment or result, and may be compared with the names of agents in -tor'   I regret that, in the case of a great many words ending in -ure, I have given the derivation as if from the future participle.   This is, of course, incorrect, though it makes no real difference as to the form of the word.   I must ask the reader to bear this in mind, and apply suitable corrections in the case of similar words, such as Feature, Garniture (s.v. Garnish), Gesture, Judicature, Juncture.   To the list of derived words add per-adventure.