# serendipity

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ · frequency rank #40,016

## Definitions
1. The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition.
2. An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident.
3. The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

## Etymology
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”.

## Common misspellings (17)
`esrendipity`, `seerndipity`, `serednipity`, `serenddipity`, `serendiipty`, `serendipitty`, `serendipityy`, `serendipiyt`, `serendippity`, `serendiptiy`, `serendpiity`, `serenidpity`, `serenndipity`, `sernedipity`, `serrendipity`, `sreendipity`, `sserendipity`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/serendipity