accident

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A crash involving a vehicle that causes damage or injury.

   There was a serious accident on the motorway this morning.

2. 2
   noun

   An unexpected and usually harmful event that happens without anyone meaning it to.

   He broke the vase by accident while cleaning.

3. 3
   noun

   Something that happens by chance, without any plan or cause.

   Winning the lottery was a happy accident.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Accident entered English through Old French in late Middle English and ultimately derives from Latin cadere ‘fall’. It first meant simply ‘an event’ or ‘something that happens’, then ‘something that happens by chance’; the modern sense of an unfortunate mishap was established by the 17th century.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d-der. Proto-Italic *kadō Latin cadō Latin accidō Latin accidēnslbor. Old French accidentbor. Middle English accident English accident First attested in the late 14th century. From Middle English accident, from Old French accident, from Latin accidēns, present active participle of accidō (“happen”); from ad (“to”) + cadō (“fall”). See cadence, case. In the sense “unintended pregnancy”, first attested in 1932.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary