Jeopardy
Middle English iuparti, from Old French ieu parti ‘(evenly) divided game’. The term was originally used in chess and other games to denote a problem, or a position in which the chances of winning or losing were evenly balanced, hence ‘a dangerous situation’.
wiktionary
From Middle English jupartie, jeopardie(“even chance”), from Old French jeu parti(“a divided game, i.e. an even game, an even chance”), from Medieval Latin iocus partītus(“an even chance, an alternative”), from Latin iocus(“jest, play, game”) + partītus, perfect passive participle of partiō(“divide”); see joke and party. [1] [2] [3]
etymonline
jeopardy (n.)
late 14c., jupartie , ioparde, etc., "danger, risk;" earlier "a cunning plan, a stratagem" (c. 1300), from or based on Old French jeu parti "a lost game," more correctly "a divided game, game with even chances" (hence "uncertainty"). The sense perhaps developed in Anglo-French.
This is from jeu "a game" (from Latin iocus "jest;" see joke (n.)) + parti, past participle of partir "to divide, separate" (10c.), from Latin partire/partiri "to share, part, distribute, divide," from pars "a part, piece, a share" (from PIE root *pere- (2) "to grant, allot"). Jeopardous "in peril" (mid-15c.) is now obsolete.
