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A.Word.A.Day--fortuitous

fortuitous (for-TOO-i-tuhs, -TYOO-) adjective

1. Happening by accident or chance.

2. (Usage Problem) Happening by a fortunate accident or chance. Lucky or fortunate.

[Latin fortuitus, from forte, by chance, ablative of fors, chance.]

"... for what initially had appeared to be a series of fortuitous events turned out to be to no small degree the machinations of Bokki ...." Gray, Charlotte Schiander, et al, Other Germanic Languages, World Literature Today, 22 Sep 1998.

This week's theme: words often used in a sense different from their established definitions.

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