Danger Once Meant Power Over Someone
Danger is exposure to harm. The word originally meant a lord's authority, and the shift happened through being at someone's mercy.
Danger is exposure to harm or risk. Its first English meaning was quite different: it meant a lord's power or jurisdiction, from Latin *dominium*. To be *in someone's danger* meant to be in their power, and since being in a powerful person's power was frequently perilous, the word slid into its modern sense.
- Exposure to harm. *In grave danger.*
- A source of harm. *A danger to shipping.*
- Dangerous — likely to cause harm. *A dangerous road.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | danger | Real danger. |
| Plural | dangers | Hidden dangers. |
| Adjective | dangerous | A dangerous animal. |
| Adverb | dangerously | Dangerously close. |
| Related | dominion | Under his dominion. |
How it is used in a sentence
- He is out of danger.No longer at risk.
- Danger money is paid for hazardous work.A premium.
- Danger marks the most severe warnings.Safety labelling.
Degrees of risk
- Hazard — a source of potential harm
- Risk — the chance that harm occurs
- Danger — exposure to harm
- Peril — grave and immediate danger
- Jeopardy — from a French phrase for an even-chance game
From Anglo-French *dangier*, from Vulgar Latin *dominarium*, power of a lord, from Latin *dominus*, master.
Hazard or danger?
A hazard is a potential source of harm. Danger is the state of being exposed to it.
How did the meaning change?
Being in a lord's power meant being at his mercy, and the sense of vulnerability gradually replaced the sense of authority.