serendipity

Meaning

1. (countable, uncountable) A combination of events which have come together by chance to make a surprisingly good or wonderful outcome.
2. (countable, uncountable) An unsought, unintended, and/or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery and/or learning experience that happens by accident.
3. (countable, uncountable) The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

Opposite of

Murphy's law, perfect storm

Synonyms

fluke

stroke of luck

Translations

sérendipité

serendipità

serendipidade

Serendipität

serendipismo

τυχαιότητα

serendipia

Zufallstreffer

serendipitia

scoperta

aubaine

chance

🎲

serendipiteit

freudige Überraschung

überraschende Erfahrung

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/

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”.