Word of the Day

: December 20, 2006

peradventure

noun PER-ud-ven-cher

What It Means

1 : doubt

2 : chance

peradventure in Context

The evidence establishes beyond peradventure that the Grinch masterminded a highly organized and intricate plot to steal Christmas.

Did You Know?

When Middle English speakers borrowed "par aventure" from Anglo-French (in which language it means, literally, "by chance"), it was as an adverb meaning "perhaps" or "possibly." Before long, the word was anglicized to "peradventure," and turned into a noun as well. The adverb is now archaic, though Washington Irving and other writers were still using it in the 19th century ("If peradventure some straggling merchant ... should stop at his door with his cart load of tin ware...." -- "A History of New York"). The noun senses we use today tend to show up in the phrase "beyond peradventure" in contexts relating to proving or demonstrating something. The "chance" sense is usually used in the phrase "beyond peradventure of doubt."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.