What does fortuity mean?
A fortuity is a chance occurrence — an event that arises by accident rather than through intention, plan, or necessity. The word derives from the Latin "fortuitus," rooted in "fors," meaning chance, the same source that gave English "fortune." Related to its adjectival cousin "fortuitous," which describes things that happen by chance, "fortuity" names the event or the quality of accidentalness itself. It appears most often in formal, literary, philosophical, and legal contexts, where writers wish to distinguish what merely happens from what is designed. Its connotations are generally neutral to positive: fortuities may be mishaps, but they are often happy accidents, unexpected meetings, or lucky discoveries. Because it captures the role of randomness in human affairs with a single elegant term, "fortuity" remains valuable wherever precision about causation matters — from insurance law to discussions of fate, serendipity, and the unpredictable turns of ordinary life.
nounA fortuity is a chance occurrence; an event that happens by accident rather than by design or necessity.
- A chance occurrence; an event produced by accident or luck rather than design.
- The quality or condition of being accidental or unplanned.
"Meeting her old college roommate on a remote hiking trail was a delightful fortuity."
"Their discovery of the buried coins was pure fortuity."
"The success of the venture rested on a fortuity no one could have predicted."
The plural "fortuities" refers to multiple chance occurrences; the singular is more common in practice.
"The historian catalogued the small fortuities that had shaped the dynasty's rise."
"Fortuity" comes from the same Latin root as "fortune" — the Romans literally personified luck as the goddess Fortuna, and this word carries a trace of her wheel.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fortuity
Fortuity derives from the Latin "fortuitus," meaning happening by chance, formed from "fors" (or "fortuna"), the Latin word for chance and luck, personified by the Romans as the goddess Fortuna. The adjective "fortuitous" entered English in the early 17th century, and the noun "fortuity" followed shortly afterward as an abstract formation from the same root. It thus shares its origin with related words such as "fortune," "fortunate," and "misfortune."
Related word forms
How fortuity is actually used
Fortuity is a formal, somewhat literary word, more common in philosophical, legal, and academic writing than everyday speech. In casual contexts, words like "chance," "coincidence," or "fluke" are far more frequent. It is countable when referring to individual events ("a fortuity") and can also be treated abstractly as a quality of events.
Easily confused with fortuity
Fortuity is the noun naming a chance event itself, while fortuitous is an adjective describing something that happens by chance.