Meaning & History
Nickname for an inveterate gambler, a crafty person, or a brave or foolhardy man prepared to run risks, from Middle English hasard via Old French hasart "dice game, game of chance", later used metaphorically of other uncertain enterprises. The word derives from Arabic اَلزَّهْر (az-zahr) meaning "the dice". It appears to have been picked up in the Holy Land and brought back to Europe by Provençal crusaders.