fortuitous 
Tims nai mv works as if to mock at :ti't. 
And in defiance of her rival pow c-rs. 
By these fortuitim* and random stroko 
Performing "ch inimitable feats 
As she with all her rules can never reach. 
Cou'iirr. Tusk, V. 124. 
Fortuitous CLU8e t a contingent cause which acts with- 
out purpose. =Syn. Ch/liu-e. Camai, etc. See nn-iilental. 
fortuitously (for-tu'i-tus-li), </*'. Acciden- 
tally; casually; by chance. 
The old stale pretence of the Atheists, that things were 
tirst made fnrtnitoiitlii, and afterwards their usefulness 
M:IS ulistTvrit of iliM'ovrrril. c;ui have no place here. 
li'i't, Works tit' Creation, ii. 410. 
.Nothing hefals them .furl uilMislii. nothing happens ii. 
vain, or without a meaning. II. Jilair. Works. V. \. 
fortuitousness (for-tu'i-tus-nes), it. The qual- 
ity or condition of being fortuitous; casual oc- 
currence or causation. 
But what do these Theists here else then [tlianl, whilst 
they deny the fortuitous motion of senseless matter to he 
the first original of all things, themselves in the mean- 
time enthrone. furtuitntixnexs and contingency in the will 
dl an I'lnniputelit being? 
Cud icorth, Intellectual System, p. S73. 
fortuity (for-tu'i-ti), . [< L. as if *fortuita(t-)n, 
< fortuitus, fortuitous, accidental: see fortui- 
tous.'] Accident; chance; casualty. 
The only question which the adversaries to Providence 
have to answer is, how they can he sure that those de- 
served judgmentes were the effect of mere fortuity, with- 
out the least intervention on the part of the Lord of the 
universe '! Forbes, On Incredulity, p. 7:1. 
Mohammed was not alone ia preferring despotism to 
anarchy, fate to fort it It 11. 
K. D. Hitchcock, Add. 48th Anniv. Union Theol. Sem. 
Fprtuna (for-tu'na), . [L., fortune; personi- 
fied, Fortune.] 1. In Horn, myth., the goddess 
of fortune. See fortune, 2. Z. The nineteenth 
planetoid, discovered by Hind, in London, in 
1852. 
fortunablet, [ME. fortunable, fortyiitiMc : < 
fortune + -able.] Fortunate. 
There was neuer birde brede vnder the stone 
More fortunaole in a felde than that birde hath be. 
Political Poeins, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 3. 
The Lord lyueth in truth, in equite, & righteousnesse ; 
and al people shall bee fortunaWe and iuyfull in him. 
Bible o.f 1551, Jer. iv. 
fortunalt, a. [ME., also fortune!, < OF. fort n- 
nel, < fortune, fortune : see fortune.'] Pertain- 
ing to fortune or chance ; fortuitous. 
The watres ymedlyd wrappith or implieth many /<>/('((- 
nel happes or maneres. Chanter, Boethius, v. meter 1. 
fortunate (for'tu-nat), a. and n. [< ME. for- 
tunate, < F. fortune '= Sp. (obs.) Pg. fortuuado 
= lt.fortunato, < Li.fortunatus, prospered, pros- 
perous, lucky, pp. ot fortunare, make prosper- 
ous or happy, < fortuna, fortune, good fortune : 
see fortune. ] 1. a. 1 . Having good fortune ; 
receiving good from uncertain or unexpected 
sources; lucky. 
And the contrarie is joye and gret solas, 
As whan a man hath ben in poure estat, 
And clymbeth up and wexeth fortunat. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Nun's Priest's Tale, H 10. 
If a Wife be the best or worst fortune of a man, cer- 
tainly you are oue of \\\z fortunatest men in this Island. 
Ilowell, Letters, I. vi. 30. 
One or two pieces so facile in thought and fortunate in 
phrase as to be carried lightly in the memory. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 335. 
2. Bringing or presaging good fortune ; result- 
ing favorably, as something uncertain ; having 
a happy issue; auspicious; felicitous: as, & for- 
tunate speculation ; a fortunate accident. 
This dream is all amiss interpreted; 
It was a vision fair and fortunate. 
Sha/c., J. C., 11. 2. 
As Sylla was sacrificing before his tent in the fields of 
>'ola, a snake happened to creep out of the bottom of the 
altar ; upon which Postumius, the haruspex who attended 
the sacrifice, proclaiming it to be & fortunate omen, called 
out upon him to lead his army immediately against the 
enemy. C. Middleton, Cicero, I. 1. 
= Syn. Felicitous, Lucky, etc. (See happy.) Fortunate. 
Successful, Prosperous, favored. Fortunate implies the 
attainment of success more by the operation of favorable 
circumstances, or through accident, than by direct effort ; 
successful denotes that effective effort has been made ; 
prosperous has nearly the same meaning as successful, 
but does not at all emphasize the effort made, and applies 
rather to a series of things than to a single event. We say 
^J'li-tintftte gambler, a successful merchant, a prosperous 
line of business. 
The administration of Oglethorpe was marred by some 
faults of temper and of tact, hut it was on the whole able, 
energetic, and fortunate. Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., iii. 
What can they see in the longest line in Europe save that 
it runs back to a successful soldier? Scott, Woodstock. 
Equally inured 
By moderation either state to bear, 
Prosperous or adverse. Milton, P. L., xi. 304. 
II. t n. In octroi., a favorable planet. Ziares. 
See extract under fortitude, 3. 
fortunatet, '' ' [ME., < L. fortunatus, pp. of 
fortitmiri; make prosperous: see fortunate, a."] 
To make fortunate ; prosper. 
Let sowe it forth, and god it fortunate ! 
I'lilliKliii*, Hilsliondrie (F.. K. T. S.), p. 7. 
fortunately (for'tu-nat-li), atlr. In a fortunate 
muniier; by good fortune; luckily; happily. 
After this victorye f>-tiin/it>'lii obteined, the Duke til" 
I'M i Horde sailed by water vp to the very tow lie of Hartle\\. 
Ball, Hen. V., an. 4. 
The lialtle then at Stoke no fortunately struck, 
I 'lion King Henry's part. . . . 
As never till that day lie felt his crown to cleave 
Unto his temples close. 
Drayton, Polyolbioii, xxii. i:<m. 
Fair lovers, you &re fortunately met. 
Mat.. M. N. I)., iv. 1. 
fortunateness (for'tu-nat-nes), n. The state of 
being fortunate ; good luck. 
The power of his wit, the valiantness of his courage, the 
j'orttttuttt'ni'** of his successes. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, ii. 
fortune (for' tun), . [< ME. fortune, < OF. for- 
I n HI-, F. fortune = Sp. Pg. It. fortuna, < L. for- 
tuna, chance, hap, luck, fate, fortune, good for- 
tune, prosperity, etc., <for(t-)s, chance, prob. 
allied to ferre, bear, bring, = E. ftrar 1 .] 1. 
Chance; hap; luck; fate. 
Alas, why playnen folk so in commune 
Of purveyiaunce of Cod, or ot fortune J 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 304. 
And some tyine he wan, and many tymes he loste, as is 
OK fortune of werre. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 184. 
What should I do, 
But cocker np my genius, and live free 
To all delights my fortune calls 'me to? 
K. Jonson, Volpone, 1. 1. 
2. Chance personified ; the events or circum- 
stances of life antecedent to some result attrib- 
uted to their working, more or less conscious- 
ly personified and regarded as a divinity whicli 
metes out happiness and unhappiness, and dis- 
tributes arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of 
life. When represented as an actual goddess (Latin For- 
tuna), the usual attribute of Fortune is a wheel, in token 
of instability. 
So confesse the to sum frere and shewe hyin thi synnes. 
For whiles Fortuity is thi frende freres wil the louye. 
Piers Plowman (B), xi. 54. 
Fortune was pleased to give us a frown. 
lleadiny Skirmisk (Child's Ballads, VII. 244). 
It is a madness to make/or(ne the mistress of events. 
Dryden, Character of Polybius. 
Since fortune is not in our power, let us be as little as 
possible 'in hers. Steele, Tatler, No. 202. 
3. That which falls to one as his portion in life 
or in any particular proceeding ; the course of 
events as affecting condition or state; cir,cum- 
stances; lot: often in the plural: as, good or 
b&ifartitne ; to share one's fortunes. 
For we] wote I that oure Lord geueth in thys worlde 
vnto eyther sort of folk either sort at fortune. 
Sir T. 3lore, Works, p. 1157. 
These must be men of action, for on those 
The fortune of our fortunes must rely. 
Ford, Perkin Warbeck, ii. 2. 
While he whose lowly fortune. I retrace, 
The youngest of three sons, was yet a babe. 
Wordsworth. 
Almost within a week of the Archduke Albert's success, 
the fortunes of Austria made shipwreck on the field of Sa- 
dowa. E. Dicey, Victor Emmanuel, p. 291. 
4. Specifically, good luck ; prosperity; success. 
It raiu'd down fortune, showering on your head. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., v. 1. 
King [Henry I. ] had the Fortune to be a Gainer by his 
Losses. Baker, Chronicles, p. 39. 
5. Estate ; possessions ; especially, when used 
absolutely, large estate; wealth: as, he mar- 
ried a lady of fortune. 
They have two hundred and eighty boarders, children 
of little fortune, who pay a very small sum for their diet 
and lodging, and have their dining room by themselves. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. ii. 231. 
A Woman that is espous'd for a Fortune is yet a better 
Bargain if she dies. Steele, Conscious Lovers, 1. 2. 
6. A person of wealth ; especially, a marriage- 
able heir or heiress. [Colloq.] 
Do yon see this young Gentleman? he has a Sister, a pro- 
digious Fortune 'Faith, you two shall be acquainted. 
Steele, Tender Husband, i. 1. 
The lady and a couple of sisters of here were . . . the 
greatest fortunes about town. Spectator, No. 282. 
7. In astrol., one of the fortunate planets: 
namely, Jupiter, Venus, the sun, the moon, and 
Mercury. 
Fortunes. 2 and ? ; and the , 2). and s , if aspect- 
ing them, and not afflicted, are considered fortunate plan- 
ets. W. Lilly, Introd. to Astrology, App., p. 341. 
To tell one's fortune, tell fortunes, to foretell what 
is to happen to one. or practise the prediction of future 
events with reference to persons, through some professed 
faculty of penetrating, or specific means of calling up, the 
secrets of the future. %w fortune-teller. 
fortunous 
fortunet (for'tun), r. [< ME. fortitnen, < OF. 
fur tuner = It~. fortunare, < L. fortunare, make 
prosperous: see fortune, n., fortunate.] I. trans. 
1. To determine the fate or chance of; fix or 
control the lot or fortune of; dispose of. 
IHit atte last, as god wold fortune it, 
Ye all only, and by your interpi is.-, 
Owt of daunger ye causid me to rise. 
' (/,,, ,/,/,.,(!:. E. T. S.), 1. 1431. 
O strunge (Jod, that . . . 
Hast in every rcgne and every londe 
of arnies al the bridel in tbyn bolide. 
And \iKiufurtiuu-st as the lust devyse. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1519. 
Dear Isis, keep decorum, &m\ fortune him accordingly. 
Shale. , A. and ('., i. -1. 
2. To foretell the fortune or lot of; presage. 
Wel rowde lu- /rtuiu'it the ascendent 
Of his ymages for his pacient. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C'. T., 1. 417. 
3. To endow with wealth or fortune. 
A gentleman of handsome parts, 
And, they say, fortund. 
Shirley, Love in a Maze, i. 1. 
A man for whose whole suit a Houndsditch Jew would 
not give Is. ad. may be able to "fortune his daughter with 
a hundred, or maybe a brace of hundreds." 
Contemporary lieo., LI. 237. 
II. intrans. 1. To befall; fallout; happen; 
chance ; come to pass casually. 
.Suche merveyles fortunede than. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 288. 
We fortuned to lye in a better place and more out of the 
dynt of the rage of the sayd tempest, or ellys we hadde ben 
in lyke case or worse, SirJt. Gttylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 75. 
It fortuned out of the thickest wood 
A ramping Lyon rushed suddeinly. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. 111. 5. 
2. To come by chance. 
They fortuned to a countre of a tyraunt kene, 
Called wales. Joseph o/Anmatliie(K. E. T. S.), p. 41. 
fortune-book (for'tun-buk), ii. A book to be 
consulted for the revelation of future events 
or in telling fortunes. 
fortuned (for'tund), a. [< fortune + -erf 2 .] 
Supplied by fortune; provided: used in com- 
position. 
Not the imperious show 
Of the lul\-forttin'd Crcsar ever shall 
Be brooch'il with me. Shak., A. and C., iv. 13. 
fortune-hunter (f6r'tun-hun"ter), n. A man 
or woman who seeks" to marry for wealth or 
fortune. 
Widows are indeed the great game of your fortune-hunt- 
ers. Addixon, The Fortune-Hunter. 
fortune-hunting (for'tun-hun"ting), ii. The 
seeking of a fortune by marriage, 
fortunelt, Seefortunal. 
fortuneless (for'tdn-les), a. [(fortune + -lens.] 
If. Luckless; unfortunate. 
For to wexe olde at home in idlenesse 
Is disadventrous, and quite fortunelesse . 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 100. 
2. Destitute of a fortune or portion. 
No wonder ... if, courted by the son of a proud and 
powerful baron, she can no longer spare a word or look to 
the four fortuneless page. Scott, Abbot, xxiv. 
fortune-tell (for'tun-tel), v. t. To tell the for- 
tune of; play tne fortune-teller to. [Used 
punningly in the place cited.] 
I'll conjure you, TH fortune-tell you. 
Sliak., M. W. of W., iv. 2. 
fortune-teller (for'tun-teFer), n. One who 
tells or reveals future events in the life of an- 
other; one who pretends to a knowledge of fu- 
ture events, and makes a practice of foretell- 
ing them. 
fortune-telling (for'tun-teHing), a. and w. 
I. a. Telling, or pretending to tell, the future 
events of one's life. 
He tipples palmistry, and dines 
On all her fortune-telling lines. Cleaveland. 
II. n. The act or practice of predicting fu- 
ture events in the life of any person. 
We are simple men : we do not know what's brought to 
pass under the profession otfortune-tellinii. 
Shak., M. W. of W., iv. 2. 
fortunlzet (f6r'tu-nlz), . t. [(fortune + -ize.] 
To regulate the fortune of; render fortunate 
or happy. 
Fooles therefore 
They are which fortunes doe by vowes devize, 
Slth each unto himselfe his life mH/orttuito. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. ix. 30. 
fortunoust, a. [ME. fortunous, < OF. fortuuox 
= Sp. fortunoso, tempestuous, = Pg. fortunotto, 
fortunate, = It. fortunoso, fortuitous; as for- 
tune + -OK*.] Proceeding from fortune; in- 
constant; changeable; fickle. 
I ne trowe not In no manere that so certeyn thlnges 
sholdeu be moeved by/ortuwMw fortune. 
Chaucer, Boethius, i. prose 6. 
