danger

The word 'danger' has a fascinating journey from a concept of power to one of peril. It entered English in the 13th century from Anglo-French da(u)nger, which signified "power, jurisdiction, or the power of a lord." This, in turn, came from Vulgar Latin dominiārium, meaning "power of a lord," rooted in the Latin dominus (lord, master). The semantic evolution is logical: being under the power or jurisdiction of a potentially capricious lord was inherently risky. Over time, the sense of "power" faded, and the associated sense of "exposure to harm or risk" became the primary meaning, solidifying in English by the late 14th century.

The word 'danger' is a simplex word borrowed from Anglo-French. Its core morpheme is not productively segmentable into meaningful sub-parts in modern English spelling. The Anglo-French source 'da(u)nger' meant "power, jurisdiction" and later "peril," derived from Vulgar Latin dominiārium, meaning "power of a lord," from Latin dominus (lord, master).