serendipity
nounEtymology
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”.
Definitions
The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of…
The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition.
- After I got here, in the first lockdown, my mum suddenly passed. It was the week of my final interview with the Mayor. It is serendipity that I am here when my dad really needs me.
An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience…
An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident.
- 2007, Erin McKean, speech at TED Serendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damn difficult.
The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for serendipity. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA