Nearby Words
noun
1.
position in life as determined by wealth: to make one's fortune.
2.
wealth or riches: to lose a small fortune in bad investments.
3.
great wealth; ample stock of money, property, and the like: to be worth a fortune.
4.
chance; luck: They each had the bad fortune to marry the wrong person.
5.
EXPANDfortunes. things that happen or are to happen to a person in his or her life.
6.
fate; lot; destiny: whatever my fortune may be.
7.
(initial capital letter) chance personified, commonly regarded as a mythical being distributing arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of life: Perhaps Fortune will smile on our venture.
8.
good luck; success; prosperity: a family blessed by fortune.
9.
COLLAPSEArchaic. a wealthy woman; an heiress.
verb (used with object)
10.
Archaic. to endow (someone or something) with a fortune.
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Fortunes
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
verb (used without object)
Idiom11.
Archaic. to chance or happen; come by chance.
12.
tell someone's fortune, to profess to inform someone of future events in his or her own life; foretell.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin fortūna chance, luck, fortune, derivative of fort- (stem of fors) chance
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin fortūna chance, luck, fortune, derivative of fort- (stem of fors) chance
Related forms
for·tune·less, adjective
Synonyms
4. fate, destiny, providence; kismet, karma. 7. Moira; Lady Luck.
4. fate, destiny, providence; kismet, karma. 7. Moira; Lady Luck.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To fortunes
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fortune
c.1300, "chance, luck as a force in human affairs," from O.Fr. fortune (12c.), from L. fortuna, from fors (gen. fortis) "chance, luck," from PIE base *bhrtis-. Often personified as a goddess; her wheel betokens vicissitude. Sense of "owned wealth" first found in Spenser; probably it evolved from senses
EXPANDof "one's condition or standing in life," hence "position as determined by wealth," then "wealth itself." Soldier of fortune first attested 1660s. The fortune cookie (1962) is said to have been invented in 1918 by David Jung, Chinese immigrant to America who established Hong Kong Noodle Co., who handed out cookies that contained uplifting messages as a promotional gimmick. Fortune 500 "most profitable American companies" is 1955, from the list published annually in "Fortune" magazine.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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