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serendipity

Definition of serendipity

noun

[mass noun]
  • the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way:a fortunate stroke of serendipity [count noun]:a series of small serendipities

Origin:

1754: coined by Horace Walpole, suggested by The Three Princes of Serendip, the title of a fairy tale in which the heroes ‘were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of’

serendipity in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of serendipity in the US English dictionary

Reference to serendipity in Language Resources

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