Origin

This character most likely combines a sound hint with a meaning component. The top part, 日, provides a rough guide to pronunciation. The bottom part, 目, means "eye" or "face." The character's meanings developed from the idea of a face being exposed or thrust forward—when you risk something or dare to do something, you're putting yourself or your face out there, making it vulnerable. Over time, this visual notion of exposure and confrontation came to represent the broader sense of risking, defying, or taking on something dangerous or presumptuous.