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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024for•tu•i•tous /fɔrˈtuɪtəs, -ˈtyu-/USA pronunciation adj. - happening or produced by chance;
accidental:a fortuitous encounter. - fortunate:The money came at a fortuitous moment.
for•tu•i•tous•ly, adv. for•tu•i•tous•ness, n. [uncountable]See -fortun-. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024for•tu•i•tous (fôr to̅o̅′i təs, -tyo̅o̅′-),USA pronunciation adj. - happening or produced by chance;
accidental:a fortuitous encounter. - lucky;
fortunate:a series of fortuitous events that advanced her career.
- Latin fortuitus, fortuītus, equivalent. to fortu- (u-stem base, otherwise unattested, akin to fors, genitive fortis chance, luck) + -itus, -ītus adjective, adjectival suffix (for formation compare gratuitous); see -ous
- 1645–55
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged incidental. See accidental.
Fortuitous has developed in sense from "happening by chance'' to "happening by lucky chance'' to simply "lucky, fortunate.'' This development was probably influenced by the similarity of fortuitous to fortunate and perhaps to felicitous:A fortuitous late-night snowfall made for a day of great skiing.Many object to the use of fortuitous to mean simply "fortunate'' and insist that it should be limited to its original sense of "accidental.'' In modern standard use, however, fortuitous almost always carries the senses both of accident or chance and luck or fortune. It is infrequently used in its sense of "accidental'' without the suggestion of good luck, and even less frequently in the sense "lucky'' without at least a suggestion of accident or chance:A fortuitous encounter with a former schoolmate led to a new and successful career for the artist. Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: fortuitous /fɔːˈtjuːɪtəs/ adj - happening by chance, esp by a lucky chance; unplanned; accidental
Etymology: 17th Century: from Latin fortuitus happening by chance, from forte by chance, from fors chance, luckforˈtuitously adv |