serendipity
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 19, 2025 is:
serendipity \sair-un-DIP-uh-tee\ noun
Serendipity refers to luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for, or to an instance of such luck.
// They found each other by pure serendipity.
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Examples:
“For new music, I rely on ... radio shows like ‘Late Junction,’ straight-up luck and serendipity, and my wife, who has impeccable taste.” — Liam Brickhill, LitHub.com, 5 Dec. 2024
Did you know?
The word serendipity did not come about by luck; rather, it was intentionally coined by 18th century author Horace Walpole, who was eager to share a happenstance discovery he had made while researching a coat of arms. In a letter to his friend Horace Mann he wrote: “This discovery indeed is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word, which ... I shall endeavor 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 they were not in quest of ...” Walpole’s memory of the tale (which, as luck would have it, was not quite accurate) gave serendipity the meaning it retains to this day.
