Serendipity
Some words are as delightful as the things they describe. Serendipity is one of them—a lilting, playful word for something good we weren’t expecting to find.
Pronunciation: sair-un-DIP-uh-tee
American IPA: /ˌsɛrənˈdɪpəti/
Part of speech: Noun
What does it mean?
Serendipity is the experience of finding something good or valuable by chance, especially while looking for something else.
You enter a bookstore to escape the rain and discover a writer whose books become your favorites. You take a different walking route and find a beautiful little garden. A chance conversation introduces you to someone who becomes a dear friend.
Each offers an occasion to say, “What wonderful serendipity.”
Where does the word come from?
The English writer Horace Walpole coined serendipity in 1754, inspired by a tale called The Three Princes of Serendip. Its princes made unexpected discoveries through a combination of chance and perceptiveness. Serendip was an old name for Sri Lanka.
That combination is part of the word’s charm: something happens by chance, and someone notices its value.
How can you use it?
“It was pure serendipity that the woman sitting beside me knew of a job that suited me perfectly.”
“Finding my favorite painting in a thrift store was a bit of serendipity.”
“We both reached for the last ripe avocado. Ten years of marriage later, I still believe in serendipity.”
You will often hear “pure serendipity” or “a bit of serendipity.” We generally use the word without a: “It was serendipity,” rather than “It was a serendipity.”
The adjective is serendipitous, meaning happening by fortunate chance:
“Our serendipitous meeting led to a lasting friendship.”
Why I love it
I like that we have a word for the pleasure of an unplanned discovery. We can set out with one purpose and come home with something we didn’t know we needed: a book, a friendship, a new interest.
Serendipity gives those happy accidents a name worth remembering.
What have you discovered by chance that you’re still grateful for?
