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Risk

potential for uncontrolled loss due to underlying vulnerability or uncertainties

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ104493 ↗
Source-derived summary

Risk is the possibility of something bad happening, comprising a level of uncertainty about the effects and implications of an activity, particularly negative and undesirable consequences.

Risk theory, assessment, and management are applied but substantially differ in different practice areas, such as business, economics, environment, finance, information technology, health, insurance, safety, security, and privacy. The international standard for risk management, ISO 31000, provides general guidelines and principles on managing risks faced by organizations.

Definition

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites the earliest use of the word in English (in the spelling of risque from its French original, 'risque') as of 1621, and the spelling as risk from 1655. While including several other definitions, the OED 3rd edition defines risk as "(Exposure to) the possibility of loss, injury, or other adverse or unwelcome circumstance; a chance or situation involving such a possibility". The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines risk as "the possibility of something bad happening". Some have argued that the definition of risk is subjective and context-specific. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 31073 defines risk as:effect of uncertainty on objectives

Note 1: An effect is a deviation from the expected. It can be positive, negative or both, and can address, create or result in opportunities and threats.

Note 2: Objectives can have different aspects and categories, and can be applied at different levels.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Risk” as potential for uncontrolled loss due to underlying vulnerability or uncertainties. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1621, 1655—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Risk, potential and uncontrolled can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as potential for uncontrolled loss due to underlying vulnerability or uncertainties. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q104493. The Library of Congress control number is sh85114195. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1621 and 1655.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Risk”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Risk primary sources, Risk archive and Risk research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Risk”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Risk” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.