serendipity
Pluralserendipities
- 1The happy chance of things turning out well by accident, especially of finding something good or useful when not looking for it; also, an instance of such luck.
It was serendipity that the two founders were seated next to each other on that flight.
A string of serendipities brought the band together: a missed bus, a borrowed guitar, and an open-mic night.
UsageOften in pure serendipity or by serendipity. Unlike neutral coincidence, it is used for chance that turns out well.
Oppositemisfortune
Note
Horace Walpole coined it in 1754 from the tale of The Three Princes of Serendip, who made discoveries by accident and sagacity. Everyday use has widened it to any happy run of chance, where nobody need notice anything for a missed bus to turn out well. Careful writers, especially in science, keep Walpole's stricter sense: a lucky find made by someone alert enough to see its value.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Horace Walpole coined serendipity in 1754. en.wikipedia.org
- Walpole derived the word from The Three Princes of Serendip. libsvcs-1.its.yale.edu
- Walpole described the princes as making discoveries through accident and sagacity. libsvcs-1.its.yale.edu
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with serendipity, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
Horace Walpole, the English writer and politician, made up the word in 1754 from Serendip (a variant of Serendib, an old name for Ceylon, now Sri Lanka) plus -ity. He based it on the Persian tale The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes, he explained in a letter to a friend, kept finding things they were not looking for, through accident and shrewdness.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- Horace Walpole was an English writer and politician who coined serendipity in 1754. en.wiktionary.org
- The word combines Serendip, a variant of Serendib meaning Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), with -ity. en.wiktionary.org
- Walpole based the word on the Persian tale The Three Princes of Serendip. en.wikipedia.org
- The recipient of Walpole's explanation was a friend, Horace Mann. en.wikipedia.org
- Walpole's letter identifies the tale that inspired his word. libsvcs-1.its.yale.edu
- Walpole described the heroes as discovering things they were not seeking through accident and sagacity. libsvcs-1.its.yale.edu