noun, masculine/a.zaʁ/plural: hasards
(random) chance; a coincidence; hazard
Synonyms: raccroc
Inherited from Middle French hasard, from Old French hasart, from Old Spanish azar, from Arabic اَلزَّهْر (az-zahr, “flowers”), named after a game of dice where the winning side of the die had a flower on it. Compare modern Spanish azar, Italian zara. The initial h- was originally purely graphic, but became aspirated by analogy with other non-Latin words. The final -d/-t is also excrescent, perhaps influenced by the suffix -ard.