serendipity
The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
A pleasant surprise resulting from an unexpected discovery.
Words with similar or overlapping meanings:
Origin & History
First appeared in English in 1754. Coined by Horace Walpole in a letter, inspired by the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip (Serendip being an old name for Sri Lanka). The princes were always making discoveries by accidents and sagacity of things they were not in quest of.
Language Family
Indo-European β Latin β Persian β English. Related to serendipitous (adjective) and serendipitously (adverb).
Frequency & Register
Moderately common in formal and literary contexts. Often used in academic writing, essays, and creative non-fiction to describe unexpected positive outcomes.
Collocations
pure serendipity, happy serendipity, stroke of serendipity, serendipitous discovery, moment of serendipity
Regional Variations
Identical spelling and pronunciation across all English dialects. Usage slightly more prevalent in British and Australian English academic literature.