quarta-feira, agosto 02, 2006
Quick
Serendipity: good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
Coined by Horace Walpole (1717-92) in a letter to Mann (dated Jan. 28 1754). Rarely used before the 20th century.
Walpole said he formed the word from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip", Seredip being an old name for Ceylon, modern Sri Lanka (from the Arabic 'Sarandib', from the sanskrit 'Simhaladvipa', "Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island").
In the fairy tale, the heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of".
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Coined by Horace Walpole (1717-92) in a letter to Mann (dated Jan. 28 1754). Rarely used before the 20th century.
Walpole said he formed the word from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip", Seredip being an old name for Ceylon, modern Sri Lanka (from the Arabic 'Sarandib', from the sanskrit 'Simhaladvipa', "Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island").
In the fairy tale, the heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of".
