venture (v.)

c. 1200, aventure, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from fem. of adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to, reach, arrive at." This is from ad "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- "to go, come").

The meaning developed through "risk; danger" (a trial of one's chances), c. 1300, and "perilous undertaking" (late 14c.) to "novel or exciting incident, remarkable occurrence in one's life" (1560s).

Earlier it also meant "a wonder, a miracle; accounts of marvelous things" (13c.). The -d- was restored in English 15c.-16c.; in French the attempt to restore it at about the same time was rejected. Venture is a 15c. variant. German Abenteuer is a borrowing of the French word, apparently deformed whimsically by influence of Abend "evening."

1880, in philology, "produced by or resulting from loss of an initial short, unaccented vowel;" with -ic + aphesis (1880), a word "suggested by the Editor" [Sir James A.H. Murray] for "gradual and unintentional loss of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word" [OED, 1989].

It is from Greek aphienai "to let go, to send forth," from assimilated form of apo "from" (see apo-) + hienai "to send, throw" (from PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel"). Compare apheresis.

As squire (n.) from esquire, venture from adventure, the Middle English part of taint (v.) from attaint, spite (n.) from despite, tire (n.) from attire, tail (n.2) from entail, tend (v.2) from attend. More such aphetic variants did not survive (stablish from establish, prentice (n.) from apprentice), tice (v.), ticement, common in Middle English for entice, enticement. They could overlap: tention c. 1600 could be short for intention or contention (and in modern times for attention!).