FORTUITOUS

adjective see: fortune Date: 1653 occurring by chance, 2. fortunate , lucky , coming or happening by a lucky chance , see: accidental ~ly adverb ~ness noun Usage: Sense 2a has been influenced in meaning by fortunate. It has been in standard if not elevated use for some 70 years, but is still disdained by some critics. Sense 2b, a blend of 1 and 2a, is virtually unnoticed by the critics. Sense 1 is the only sense commonly used in negative constructions.