jeopardise

The word 'jeopardise' originates from the Anglo-French phrase 'jeu parti', literally meaning "a divided game" or "an even chance." This term was used in Middle English as 'jupartie' to describe a predicament or a situation of uncertain outcome, much like a risky move in a game. Over time, the noun 'jeopardy' evolved from this, specifically referring to danger or peril. The verb form 'jeopardise' was subsequently formed in English by adding the productive suffix '-ise', shifting the meaning from the state of risk to the act of causing that risk. Thus, the modern sense of endangering something retains the core idea of putting it into a situation of uncertain and potentially negative consequence.

The word is a loanword from French and is not productively formed from separable morphemes in modern English. Its core is the Old French root 'jeu parti', meaning "divided game" or "even chance."