Crossword clues for serendipity
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1754 (but rare before 20c.), coined by Horace Walpole (1717-92) in a letter to Horace Mann (dated Jan. 28); he said he formed it from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip," whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of." The name is from Serendip, an old name for Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), from Arabic Sarandib, from Sanskrit Simhaladvipa "Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island."
Wiktionary
n. 1 An unsought, unintended, and/or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery and/or learning experience that happens by accident. 2 A combination of events which are not individually beneficial, but occurring together produce a good or wonderful outcome.
WordNet
n. good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
Wikipedia
Serendipity means a "fortunate happenstance" or "pleasant surprise". It was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754. In a letter he wrote to a friend, Walpole explained an unexpected discovery he had made by reference to a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip. The princes, he told his correspondent, were "always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of". The notion of serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of scientific innovation such as Alexander Fleming's accidental discovery of penicillin in 1928, the invention of the microwave oven by Percy Spencer in 1945, and the invention of the Post-it note by Spencer Silver in 1968.
In June 2004 a British translation company voted the word to be one of the ten English words hardest to translate. However, due to its sociological use, the word has since been exported into many other languages.
Serendipity is an accidental lucky discovery.
Serendipity may also refer to:
Serendipity is a 2001 American romantic comedy film, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom. The music score is composed by Alan Silvestri.
Serendipity is a series of children's books about animals and other creatures. The books were written by Stephen Cosgrove and illustrated by Robin James. The books are short stories with colorful illustrations that have a moral perspective.
Cosgrove wrote the books after searching for an easy to read book with a message to read to his then three-year-old daughter. After finding primarily large expensive books, Cosgrove teamed up with illustrator James to create low cost softcover books. After receiving an offer to publish the books only in hardcover, Cosgrove created his own publishing company - Serendipity Press. The first four books of the Serendipity Series were released in 1974. They are: Serendipity, The Dream Tree, Wheedle on the Needle, and The Muffin Muncher. Cosgrove merged Serendipity Press with the publishing company, Price/Stern/Sloan-Penguin/Putnum in 1978 so that Cosgrove could focus on writing. Cosgrove decided to re-edit his earlier books, which have been republished with the changes. To date, there are 70 books in the series, written from the kindergarten to grade three levels.
The animals in the Serendipity series include bears, cats, dogs, horses, squirrels, rabbits, and mythical creatures such as unicorns, dragons, sea monsters, and pegasus. Cosgrove also invented his own creatures such as the wheedle, hucklebug and kritter. The books present moral issues such as growing up, disabilities, abuse, fear, friendship, prejudice, gossip, and helping the environment.
The book series was adapted into a 26-episode anime series entitled Serendipity the Pink Dragon and 26-episode cartoon series Little Mouse on the Prairie.
At least 25 of the books were translated into Spanish (based on the list in El Dragon Gloton).
Serendipity is a blog and web-based content management system written in PHP and available under a BSD license. It supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite database backends, the Smarty template engine, and a plugin architecture for user contributed modifications.
Serendipity is available through a number of "one-click install" services such as Installatron.
Serendipity is the third solo album by jazz pianist Mike Garson, and was released in 1986.
Serendipity is a live album recorded by composer and vibraphonist Walt Dickerson in Philadelphia in1976 for the SteepleChase label.
"Serendipity" is Mai Kuraki's forty-eighth (fifth in her digital single) single, released on May 20, 2015. Kuraki re-recorded this song with Sensation, and it was released on January 7, 2016. The original version of the song is the only song Kuraki released in 2015.
Serendipity is a short-lived BBC TV series consisting of 10 episodes, which was broadcast from September to November 1973 at Sunday lunch times on BBC1, presented by actress Katy Manning, who had only recently left her role as Jo Grant in the TV series Doctor Who. It was Manning's first TV presenting role. The series presented a guide to getting started in arts and crafts. The Radio Times carried the tag line "Crafts are for everyone" for each episode listing. A book accompanying the series was published, retailing at 40 pence.
Usage examples of "serendipity".
He knew of no other woman in Serendipity or the outlying provinces who would have taken such a risk.
The woman had waved one hand in a sweeping gesture that included all of Serendipity, the surrounding province of Pallisar and the whole western continent.
But during the whole time she had been in Serendipity Sariana had felt like a stranger in a strange land.
She had definitely been living in Serendipity too long if she was starting to think along such lines.
My goal is to give a graphic demonstration of my abilities here in Serendipity and use that to persuade the academy to give me another chance.
With a temperament like that, you might be more at home here in Serendipity than you would be in Rendezvous.
She had lived in Serendipity for a year, but it was clear she did not yet know all the local customs and laws.
The people of Serendipity carried on their banking with the same loud enthusiasm they applied to nearly every other activity.
She had assumed in the beginning that it was Gryph trailing her through the streets of Serendipity down to the wharf and she had been angered as well as nervous.
Back in Serendipity she nearly killed a man who was trying to assault her.
I would have left Serendipity the night you first sank your sharp little nails into me.
Alfvaen wakes before I do, please tell her that her serendipity is unrivaled.
That makes me feel a little better: I had her serendipity for backup if I blew it.
She had left her infant son with Andy the day she headed for Serendipity to find out what had happened to Bartholomew Chastain.
Twenty years ago I managed to find a couple of old jelly-ice miners who happened to be in Serendipity the week the team gathered there.