Serendipity… you will understand it better by the derivation than by the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of…. Now do you understand serendipity?

Horace Walpole coined the word “serendipity” in an eighteenth-century letter while describing an unexpected discovery prompted by chance and discernment. Writing in the milieu of antiquarian collecting and scholarly correspondence, Walpole explained that he had found a piece of information he was not actively seeking and wanted a term for such fortunate, accidental finds. To clarify, he pointed to a story he had read, “The Three Princes of Serendip,” whose heroes repeatedly infer hidden truths from incidental clues. Walpole’s letter is the earliest known appearance of “serendipity,” and it helped launch the term into later English usage for happy, unplanned discoveries.

Walpole’s explanation emphasizes that serendipity is not mere luck. The princes’ “accidents” supply raw, unforeseen data, but “sagacity” (keen judgment) turns those accidents into discoveries. The quote therefore defines serendipity as a blend of contingency and intelligence: the world offers unexpected clues, yet only an attentive mind recognizes their value and connects them to a new insight. Walpole’s framing also suggests a playful skepticism toward pedantic definition—etymology and anecdote, he implies, can convey meaning more vividly than a dictionary gloss. The passage has become foundational for modern discussions of discovery in science, scholarship, and everyday life.

“This discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word….”
“Serendipity: making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of.”
“…always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of.”