English Explanatory Dictionary

serendipity

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition.
  2. An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident.
  3. The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

Pronunciation

/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ /ˌsɛɹ.ɛnˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ en-us-serendipity.ogg en-uk-serendipity.ogg en-au-serendipity.ogg

Word forms

serendipity serendipities

Etymology

From Serendip (“variant of Serendib: Ceylon, Sri Lanka”) + -ity. Coined by English writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754 based on the Persian story of the Three Princes of Serendip, who (Walpole wrote to a friend) were “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”.

Synonyms

chance luck adventure accident casualty chance-medley fortune hap hazard joss serendipity weird

Antonyms

Murphy's law perfect storm

Derived words

serendipitist serendipitous serendipitously serendipity berry
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