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Published:

2016-01-07 03:08:19

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2026-06

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Who created the word serendipity? It was Walpole...'s son!

Special thanks to the Extra History viewer who tipped us off about this one!

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/03/what-is-the-origin-of-serendipity/

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What is the origin of 'serendipity'? | OxfordWords blog

The wonderfully onomatopoeic serendipity, which is indeed often chosen as Britons' favourite English word (alongside nincompoop and discombobulate), means the making of happy and unexpected discoveries by accident. It was invented by the writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754 as an allusion to Serendip, an old name for Sri Lanka.