See serendipity in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"word": "serendipitous"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"word": "serendipitously"
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{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"word": "serendipity berry"
}
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"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Serendip",
"3": "ity",
"t1": "variant of Serendib: Ceylon, Sri Lanka"
},
"expansion": "Serendip (“variant of Serendib: Ceylon, Sri Lanka”) + -ity",
"name": "suffix"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Horace Walpole",
"in": "1754",
"nat": "English",
"nobycat": "1",
"occ": "writer and politician"
},
"expansion": "Coined by English writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754",
"name": "coin"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "serendipities",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
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"args": {
"1": "~"
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"expansion": "serendipity (countable and uncountable, plural serendipities)",
"name": "en-noun"
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],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"antonyms": [
{
"word": "Murphy's law"
},
{
"word": "perfect storm"
}
],
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1754, Horace Walpole, The Letters of Horace Walpole, vol. 2, Letter 90, To Sir Horace Mann, Arlington Street, Jan. 28, 1754. The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Letters of Horace Walpole, Volume 2",
"text": "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!\nThis 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 endeavour to explain to you: you will understand it better by the derivation than by the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called \"The Three Princes of Serendip;\" as their Highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of them discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right – now do you understand Serendipity? One of the most remarkable instances of this accidental Sagacity, (for you must observe that no discovery of a thing you are looking for comes under this description,) was of my Lord Shaftsbury, who, happening to dine at Lord Chancellor Clarendon's, found out the marriage of the Duke of York and Mrs. Hyde, by the respect with which her mother treated her at table."
},
{
"ref": "2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 54:",
"text": "After I got here, in the first lockdown, my mum suddenly passed. It was the week of my final interview with the Mayor. It is serendipity that I am here when my dad really needs me.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A combination of events which have come together by chance to make a surprisingly good or wonderful outcome."
],
"id": "en-serendipity-en-noun-~FSbjJsk",
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "gelukkig toeval"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "onnekas sattumien summa"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "glückliche Fügung"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "wunderbares Geschehen"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "unverhofftes Glück"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "wunderbares Zusammentreffen"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "überraschendes Ereignis"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "glücklicher Zufall"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Zufallstreffer"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Serendipität"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "tychaiótita",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "τυχαιότητα"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "io",
"lang": "Ido",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "serendipo"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipità"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "providência"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "sčastlívoje stečénije obstojátelʹstv",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "счастли́вое стече́ние обстоя́тельств"
},
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"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "scn",
"lang": "Sicilian",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sirinnipità"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "scn",
"lang": "Sicilian",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sirintipità"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "sk",
"lang": "Slovak",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "šťastná náhoda"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "sk",
"lang": "Slovak",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "šťastná zhoda okolností"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "serendipitet"
},
{
"_dis1": "75 4 21",
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "ščaslyvyj zbih obstávyn",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "щасливий збіг обста́вин"
}
]
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"examples": [
{
"text": "2007, Erin McKean, speech at TED\nSerendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damn difficult."
}
],
"glosses": [
"An unsought, unintended, and/or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery and/or learning experience that happens by accident."
],
"id": "en-serendipity-en-noun-Ihb-VtX~",
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "chance"
},
{
"word": "luck"
},
{
"word": "luck"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "serendiputʻyun",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "սերենդիպություն"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "erǰanik patahakanutʻyun",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "երջանիկ պատահականություն"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipitat"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "qiǎoshì",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "巧事"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "機緣湊巧"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "jīyuán còuqiǎo",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "机缘凑巧"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "機緣"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "jīyuán",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "机缘"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "机缘巧合"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "lykketræf"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipiteit"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "toevalstreffer"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "onnekas sattuma"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "onnenpotku"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "onnenkantamoinen"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sérendipité"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "aubaine"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "heureux hazard"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "chance"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "coup de pot"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "(glücklicher) Zufallsfund"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "zufällige Entdeckung"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Serendipität"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "évnoia tis týchis",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "εύνοια της τύχης"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "kolofardía",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "κωλοφαρδία"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "eftýchima",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ευτύχημα"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "tychaiótita",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "τυχαιότητα"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "slembilukka"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "io",
"lang": "Ido",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "serendipo"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "scoperta"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipità"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "gūsatsuryoku",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "偶察力"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "serendipiti",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "セレンディピティ"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "szczęśliwy zbieg okoliczności"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipidade"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipitia"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "serendipismo"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "eventualidade"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "contingência"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "acaso"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipitate"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "vezúčestʹ",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "везу́честь"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipia"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipidad"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "serendipicia"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 89 6",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "serendipitet"
}
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way."
],
"id": "en-serendipity-en-noun-PWYq2YBN",
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌsɛɹ.ɛnˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/"
},
{
"audio": "en-us-serendipity.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/90/En-us-serendipity.ogg/En-us-serendipity.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/En-us-serendipity.ogg"
},
{
"audio": "en-uk-serendipity.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/5f/En-uk-serendipity.ogg/En-uk-serendipity.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/En-uk-serendipity.ogg"
},
{
"audio": "en-au-serendipity.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/09/En-au-serendipity.ogg/En-au-serendipity.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/En-au-serendipity.ogg"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"The Three Princes of Serendip"
],
"word": "serendipity"
}
{
"categories": [
"English coinages",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from toponyms",
"English terms suffixed with -ity",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Requests for review of Dutch translations",
"Requests for review of German translations",
"Requests for review of Icelandic translations",
"Terms with Armenian translations",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Icelandic translations",
"Terms with Ido translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Japanese translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Romanian translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Sicilian translations",
"Terms with Slovak translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"Terms with Ukrainian translations"
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "serendipitous"
},
{
"word": "serendipitously"
},
{
"word": "serendipity berry"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Serendip",
"3": "ity",
"t1": "variant of Serendib: Ceylon, Sri Lanka"
},
"expansion": "Serendip (“variant of Serendib: Ceylon, Sri Lanka”) + -ity",
"name": "suffix"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Horace Walpole",
"in": "1754",
"nat": "English",
"nobycat": "1",
"occ": "writer and politician"
},
"expansion": "Coined by English writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754",
"name": "coin"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "serendipities",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "serendipity (countable and uncountable, plural serendipities)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"antonyms": [
{
"word": "Murphy's law"
},
{
"word": "perfect storm"
}
],
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1754, Horace Walpole, The Letters of Horace Walpole, vol. 2, Letter 90, To Sir Horace Mann, Arlington Street, Jan. 28, 1754. The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Letters of Horace Walpole, Volume 2",
"text": "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!\nThis 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 endeavour to explain to you: you will understand it better by the derivation than by the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called \"The Three Princes of Serendip;\" as their Highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of them discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right – now do you understand Serendipity? One of the most remarkable instances of this accidental Sagacity, (for you must observe that no discovery of a thing you are looking for comes under this description,) was of my Lord Shaftsbury, who, happening to dine at Lord Chancellor Clarendon's, found out the marriage of the Duke of York and Mrs. Hyde, by the respect with which her mother treated her at table."
},
{
"ref": "2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 54:",
"text": "After I got here, in the first lockdown, my mum suddenly passed. It was the week of my final interview with the Mayor. It is serendipity that I am here when my dad really needs me.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A combination of events which have come together by chance to make a surprisingly good or wonderful outcome."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"examples": [
{
"text": "2007, Erin McKean, speech at TED\nSerendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damn difficult."
}
],
"glosses": [
"An unsought, unintended, and/or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery and/or learning experience that happens by accident."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "chance"
},
{
"word": "luck"
},
{
"word": "luck"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌsɛɹ.ɛnˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/"
},
{
"audio": "en-us-serendipity.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/90/En-us-serendipity.ogg/En-us-serendipity.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/En-us-serendipity.ogg"
},
{
"audio": "en-uk-serendipity.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/5f/En-uk-serendipity.ogg/En-uk-serendipity.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/En-uk-serendipity.ogg"
},
{
"audio": "en-au-serendipity.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/09/En-au-serendipity.ogg/En-au-serendipity.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/En-au-serendipity.ogg"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "serendiputʻyun",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "սերենդիպություն"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "erǰanik patahakanutʻyun",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "երջանիկ պատահականություն"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipitat"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "qiǎoshì",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "巧事"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "機緣湊巧"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "jīyuán còuqiǎo",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "机缘凑巧"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "機緣"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "jīyuán",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "机缘"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "机缘巧合"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "lykketræf"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipiteit"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "toevalstreffer"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "onnekas sattuma"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "onnenpotku"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "onnenkantamoinen"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sérendipité"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "aubaine"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "heureux hazard"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "chance"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "coup de pot"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "(glücklicher) Zufallsfund"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "zufällige Entdeckung"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Serendipität"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "évnoia tis týchis",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "εύνοια της τύχης"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "kolofardía",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "κωλοφαρδία"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "eftýchima",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ευτύχημα"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "tychaiótita",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "τυχαιότητα"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "slembilukka"
},
{
"code": "io",
"lang": "Ido",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "serendipo"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "scoperta"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipità"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "gūsatsuryoku",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "偶察力"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "serendipiti",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "セレンディピティ"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "szczęśliwy zbieg okoliczności"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipidade"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipitia"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "serendipismo"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "eventualidade"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "contingência"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "acaso"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipitate"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "vezúčestʹ",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "везу́честь"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipia"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipidad"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"word": "serendipicia"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "unsought, unintended... and/or learning experience that happens by accident",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "serendipitet"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "gelukkig toeval"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "onnekas sattumien summa"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "glückliche Fügung"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "wunderbares Geschehen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "unverhofftes Glück"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "wunderbares Zusammentreffen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "überraschendes Ereignis"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "glücklicher Zufall"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Zufallstreffer"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Serendipität"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "tychaiótita",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "τυχαιότητα"
},
{
"code": "io",
"lang": "Ido",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "serendipo"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "serendipità"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"word": "providência"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "sčastlívoje stečénije obstojátelʹstv",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "счастли́вое стече́ние обстоя́тельств"
},
{
"code": "scn",
"lang": "Sicilian",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sirinnipità"
},
{
"code": "scn",
"lang": "Sicilian",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sirintipità"
},
{
"code": "sk",
"lang": "Slovak",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "šťastná náhoda"
},
{
"code": "sk",
"lang": "Slovak",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "šťastná zhoda okolností"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "serendipitet"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "ščaslyvyj zbih obstávyn",
"sense": "a combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "щасливий збіг обста́вин"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"The Three Princes of Serendip"
],
"word": "serendipity"
}
Download raw JSONL data for serendipity meaning in English (18.1kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.