Serendipity (noun)
se-ren-dip-i-tee
Serendipity refers to the occurrence of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. It’s often used to describe lucky discoveries made unintentionally.
The word “serendipity” was coined by the English writer Horace Walpole in 1754. He derived it from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the protagonists make discoveries by accident and sagacity. Serendip was an old name for Sri Lanka, which came from the Arabic “Sarandib”, itself derived from the Sanskrit “Siṃhaladvīpa” (meaning “Lion Island”).
Example sentences
“While wandering through a second-hand bookshop, she experienced a moment of serendipity when she stumbled upon a rare edition of her favourite novel.”
