History of Words (1)

A bit of Etymology

CHANCE, /'chan(t)s/ n. from Old French chaance / cheance, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (from Latin cadens, cadent-, present participle of 'cadere', to fall, befall); cf. Indo-European root *kad-.
English words sharing the same Latin root cad-/cas-/cid-: cadence, cascade (both from Italian); case, casual, occasion, cadaverous, accident, recidivist; decay, escheat, chute (from Old French).