fortuitous

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The Word of the Day for September 21 is: 

fortuitous   \for-TOO-uh-tus\   adjective
     1 : occurring by chance 
     2 : fortunate, lucky 
    *3 : coming or happening by a lucky chance 

Example sentence:
     How fortuitous it was that the day before the rattlesnake bit little 
Jessica, her Dad had completed a first aid course!

Did you know?
     For some 250 years, until the early part of the 20th century, "fortuitous" 
meant one thing only: "happening by chance." This was no accident; its Latin 
forebear, "fortuitus," derives from the same ancient root as the Latin word for 
"chance," which is "fors." But the fact that "fortuitous" sounds like a blend 
of "fortunate" and "felicitous" (meaning "happily suited to an occasion") may 
have been what ultimately led to a second meaning: "fortunate." That use has 
been disparaged by critics, but it is now well established. Perhaps the seeds 
of the newer sense were planted by earlier writers applying overtones of good 
fortune to something that is a chance occurrence. In fact, today we quite often 
apply "fortuitous" to something that is a chance occurrence but has a favorable 
result. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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