fortuitous — fortuitous, fortuitously 1. The OED and all reputable dictionaries show fortuitous to be a word with only one meaning, ‘caused by chance, accidental’. Addison wrote in the Spectator in 1712 that the highest Degree of [wisdom] which Man can… … Modern English usage
Fortuitous — For*tu i*tous, a. [L. fortuitus; akin to forte, adv., by chance, prop. abl. of fors, fortis, chance. See {Fortune}.] 1. Happening by chance; coming or occuring unexpectedly, or without any known cause; chance; as, the fortuitous concourse of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
fortuitous — I adjective accidental, adventitious, casual, chance, circumstantial, coincidental, designless, forte oblatus, fortuitus, haphazard, happening by chance, involuntary, lucky, occurring by chance, providential, random, spontaneous, surprise,… … Law dictionary
fortuitous — 1650s, from L. fortuitus happening by chance, casual, accidental, from forte by chance, ablative of fors chance (related to fortuna; see FORTUNE (Cf. fortune)). It means accidental, undesigned not fortunate. Earlier in this sense was fortuit… … Etymology dictionary
fortuitous — *accidental, contingent, casual, incidental, adventitious Analogous words: *random, haphazard, chance, chancy, hit or miss Contrasted words: activated, actuated, motivated (see ACTIVATE): planned, projected, designed, schemed, plotted (see… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
fortuitous — [adj] lucky, accidental arbitrary, casual, chance, contingent, fluke*, fluky*, fortunate, haphazard, happy, incidental, luck in*, luck out*, lucky dog*, odd, providential, random, serendipitous, unforeseen, unplanned; concepts 548,552 Ant.… … New thesaurus
fortuitous — ► ADJECTIVE 1) happening by chance rather than design. 2) happening by a lucky chance; fortunate. DERIVATIVES fortuitously adverb fortuitousness noun fortuity noun (pl. fortuities) . ORIGIN Latin fortuitus, from forte … English terms dictionary
fortuitous — [fôr to͞o′ə təs, fôrtyo͞o′ə təs] adj. [L fortuitus < forte, by chance < fors (gen. fortis), chance, luck < IE * bhr̥tis < base * bher , to bring > BEAR1] 1. happening by chance; accidental 2. bringing, or happening by, good luck;… … English World dictionary
fortuitous — fortuitously, adv. fortuitousness, n. /fawr tooh i teuhs, tyooh /, adj. 1. happening or produced by chance; accidental: a fortuitous encounter. 2. lucky; fortunate: a series of fortuitous events that advanced her career. [1645 55; < L fortuitus,… … Universalium
fortuitous — adjective 1) a fortuitous resemblance Syn: chance, adventitious, unexpected, unanticipated, unpredictable, unforeseen, unlooked for, serendipitous, casual, incidental, coincidental, random, accidental, inadvertent, unintentional, unintended … Thesaurus of popular words
fortuitous — for•tu•i•tous [[t]fɔrˈtu ɪ təs, ˈtyu [/t]] adj. 1) happening or produced by chance; accidental: a fortuitous encounter[/ex] 2) lucky; fortunate • Etymology: 1645–55; < L fortuitus, akin to fors, gen. fortis chance, luck for•tu′i•tous•ly, adv.… … From formal English to slang
