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jeop·ard·y

(jĕpər-dē)

n. pl. jeop·ard·ies

1. Risk of loss or injury; peril or danger.

2. Law A defendant's risk or danger of conviction when put on trial.

[Middle English juperti, from Old French jeu parti, even game, uncertainty : jeu, game (from Latin iocus, joke, game; see yek- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + parti, past participle of partir, to divide (from Latin partīre, from pars, part-, part; see PART).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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