Where does “chance” come from?

chance (Middle English) comes from Old French cheance, from Vulgar Latin cadentia, from Latin cadēns, from Latin cadō, from Proto-Italic kadō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱad- — to fall.

Ancestry of “chance”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcheanceaccident, chance, luck
2Vulgar Latincadentiafalling
3Latincadēnsfalling
4Latincadōto fall, to fall out
5Proto-Italickadōfall, sink
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱad-to fall

Words derived from “chance”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱad- →Every word from Proto-Italic kadō →Every word from Latin cadō →