serendipity /ˌser.ənˈdɪp.ə.ti/
1. luck
The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
"A fortunate stroke of serendipity brought them together at the conference."
2. discovery
An aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
"Scientific serendipity led to the accidental discovery of penicillin."
3. literature
The faculty of making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident.
"The novel celebrates serendipity as a driving force of human connection."
fortune
luck
chance
fate
destiny
providence
happenstance
fortuity
blessing
stroke of luck
"They stumbled upon the hidden café through pure serendipity."
"Many groundbreaking inventions were born from serendipity rather than deliberate planning."
"Her serendipitous encounter with the publisher changed her career forever."
Coined by Horace Walpole in 1754, from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip" (Serendip being an old name for Sri Lanka). The princes in the story were always making discoveries by accidents or sagacity of things they were not in quest of.
Root: Serendip (Sri Lanka) + -ity (state or quality)