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Serendipity is the happy accident of finding something good when you were not looking for it.
Serendipity is the happy accident ofSerendipity指的是那種意外的幸運 finding something good就是你根本沒在找 when you were not looking for it卻找到了好東西
It is not just luck. Luck can be good or bad, and it can be about a thing you hoped for. Serendipity is narrower: you were hunting for something else, or for nothing at all, and a valuable thing turned up anyway.
It is not just luck這不只是運氣好而已Luck can be good or bad運氣可以是好的也可以是壞的 and it can be about a thing you hoped for也可以是你本來就希望發生的事Serendipity is narrower而serendipity的範圍比較窄 you were hunting for something else, or for nothing at all你原本在找別的東西，或根本什麼都沒在找 and a valuable thing turned up anyway結果卻冒出一個有價值的東西
Scientists love the word, because a spill, a dirty dish, or a wrong turning has sometimes taught them more than the neat plan. In everyday talk people stretch it a little — a chance meeting, a book you pick up for no reason — and though actually that looser use still keeps the heart of it: you did not arrange this, and it turned out worth having.
Scientists love the word科學家很愛這個詞 because a spill, a dirty dish, or a wrong turning因為一次打翻、一個沒洗的盤子或走錯的一條路 has sometimes taught them more than the neat plan有時候教會他們的東西比周全的計畫還多In everyday talk people stretch it a little日常說話裡大家會用得比較鬆一點 a chance meeting, a book you pick up for no reason像一次偶遇，或隨手拿起的一本書 that looser use still keeps the heart of it不過這種鬆一點的用法還是保留了核心 you did not arrange this就是你沒有刻意安排 and it turned out worth having結果卻很值得
It is a rather literary, pleased-with-itself word; you will hear it in essays and speeches more than at the night market.
It is a rather literary, pleased-with-itself word這是個相當文藝、帶點自我陶醉感的詞 you will hear it in essays and speeches你會在文章和演講裡聽到它 more than at the night market而不是在夜市
An 18th-century English writer, Horace Walpole, made it up from Serendip, an old name for the island we now call Sri Lanka. He had a fairy tale in mind, The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes kept discovering things they had not set out to find.
An 18th-century English writer, Horace Walpole十八世紀的英國作家Horace Walpole made it up from Serendip是從Serendip這個詞造出來的 an old name for the island we now call Sri Lanka那是我們現在稱為斯里蘭卡這座島的舊名He had a fairy tale in mind他心裡想的是一則童話 The Three Princes of Serendip《Serendip的三王子》 whose heroes kept discovering things they had not set out to find裡面的主角們一直發現他們原本沒打算要找的東西
組成Serendip (old name for Sri Lanka / Ceylon, from Persian and Arabic Serendib, itself from an older Sanskrit name for that island) + English -ity. Coined in English from the tale of the princes of Serendip; the word does not split into living English pieces beyond that ending.
同家族的字
- serendipitousthe adjective from the same coined word: a serendipitous find
原始詞典資料3 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
serendipitynoun/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/
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The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition.
- The most random serendipity brought the two of us together, and now, we are happily married! If I was just 15 seconds slower, I'd have never met her! This discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word, which, as I have nothing better to tell you, I shall endeavour to explain to you: you will understand it better by the derivation than by the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called "The Three Princes of Serendip;" as their Highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of them discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right – now do you understand Serendipity? One of the most remarkable instances of this accidental Sagacity, (for you must observe that no discovery of a thing you are looking for comes under this description,) was of my Lord Shaftsbury, who, happening to dine at Lord Chancellor Clarendon's, found out the marriage of the Duke of York and Mrs. Hyde, by the respect with which her mother treated her at table.
- After I got here, in the first lockdown, my mum suddenly passed. It was the week of my final interview with the Mayor. It is serendipity that I am here when my dad really needs me.
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An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident.
- 2007, Erin McKean, speech at TED Serendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damn difficult.
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The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。