serendipity

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serendipity

/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ UK
/ˌsɛɹ.ɛnˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ UK, rare
/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ Canada, US
[ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ɾi] Canada, US
/ˌseɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ Australia
[ˌseɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ɾi] Australia

Where it comes from

From Serendip (“variant of Serendib: Ceylon, Sri Lanka”) + -ity. Coined by English writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754 based on the Persian story of the Three Princes of Serendip, who (Walpole wrote to a friend) were “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”.

noun serendipities

countable, uncountable The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition. The most random serendipity brought the two of us together, and now, we are happily married! If I was just 15 seconds slower, I'd have never met her! This discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word, which, as I have nothing better to tell you, I shall
Opposite: Murphy's law, perfect storm
countable, uncountable An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident. 2007, Erin McKean, speech at TED Serendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damn difficult.
Similar: chance, luck, adventure, accident, casualty, chance-medley, fortune, hap, hazard, joss, serendipity, weird
countable, uncountable The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

Translations

Every language

noun unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident

Español	serendipia, serendipidad
日本語	偶察力 gūsatsuryoku, セレンディピティ serendipiti
中文	巧事 qiǎoshì, 機緣湊巧 /机缘凑巧 jīyuán còuqiǎo, 機緣 /机缘 jīyuán, 机缘巧合 jīyuánqiǎohé
Português	serendipidade, serendipitia, serendipismo, eventualidade, contingência, acaso
Français	sérendipité, aubaine, heureux hasard, chance, coup de pot
Deutsch	(glücklicher) Zufallsfund, zufällige Entdeckung, Serendipität
Italiano	scoperta, serendipità
Ελληνικά	εύνοια της τύχης évnoia tis týchis, κωλοφαρδία kolofardía, ευτύχημα eftýchima, τυχαιότητα tychaiótita
Română	serendipitate
Русский	везу́честь vezúčestʹ

noun a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome

Português	providência
Deutsch	glückliche Fügung, wunderbares Geschehen, unverhofftes Glück, wunderbares Zusammentreffen, überraschendes Ereignis, glücklicher Zufall
Italiano	serendipità
Ελληνικά	τυχαιότητα tychaiótita
Русский	счастли́вое стече́ние обстоя́тельств sčastlívoje stečénije obstojátelʹstv

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Cite this

MLA

"serendipity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/serendipity. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

serendipity. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/serendipity

Chicago

"serendipity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/serendipity.

BibTeX

@misc{serendipity_2026,
  title = {serendipity},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/serendipity},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}