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Serendipity
ser-uhn-DIP-i-tee
noun
The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way; the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
Etymology
Coined by Horace Walpole in 1754 in a letter to his friend Horace Mann. He based it on the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip" (Serendip being an old name for Sri Lanka), whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of."
Usage Examples
- —“It was pure serendipity that they met at the coffee shop that morning.”
- —“Many scientific breakthroughs have been the result of serendipity rather than planned research.”
- —“She believed in serendipity—that the universe had a way of putting the right people in your path.”
Fun Fact
Penicillin, the microwave oven, X-rays, and Post-it Notes were all discovered through serendipity! Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin when he noticed mold had killed bacteria in a petri dish he'd accidentally left open.