RISK  ,

hazard, chance of danger or loss, especially the chance of loss to property or goods which an insurance company undertakes to make good to the insurer in return for the re-current payment of a sum called the premium (see INSURANCE) . The word appears late in English, and in the 17th century in the Fr. form risque or It. risco or risgo, for risico, risigo; cf . Sp. riesgo . The Med . Lat. riscus, rischium, and risicum are found, according to Du Cange (Gloss., qq.v.), as early as the 13th century . Skeat (Etym .