英和和英

発音

• (General American) IPA: /ˈhæpənˌstæns/
• (英国発音) IPA: /ˈhap(ə)nˌstans/

名詞

happenstance (countable and uncountable, plural happenstances)

1. (uncountable) The chance or random quality of an event or circumstance.

   Synonyms: accident, chance, coincidence, happenchance

   by happenstance

   • 1964, Goldfinger, spoken by James Bond (Sean Connery):

     Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.

   • 2001, “People Talkin'”, in MTV Unplugged, performed by Jay-Z:

     Dammit, man this is the gift from God / This ain't happenstance

2. (countable) A chance or random event or circumstance.

   Our meeting today was a happenstance, but I'm glad we crossed paths.

   the happenstances of life

   • 1855 March 31, “Sketch of Mr William Denton's Address at the Ohio State Phonetic Institution, 29th December, 1854”, in The Phonetic Journal, volume 14, Frederick Pitman, page 148:

     So the orthography of many of our words is the result of a mere happenstance […]

派生語

• happenstantial
• happenstantially

Further reading

• “happenstance”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.