SERENDIPITY

serendipity

(noun) good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

serendipity (countable and uncountable, plural serendipities)

A combination of events which have come together by chance to make a surprisingly good or wonderful outcome.

Antonyms: Murphy's law, perfect storm

An unsought, unintended, and/or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery and/or learning experience that happens by accident.

Synonyms: chance, luck, Thesaurus:luck

Usage notes

Serendipity is sometimes used loosely as a synonym for luck; more careful usage, particularly in science, emphasizes specifically "finding something when looking for something else, thanks to an observant mind".

The term was virtually unknown until the 1870s, and gained currency in the early 20th century. It became popularized at mid-century, and is now widely used.

Source: Wiktionary