Accidentalist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who subscribes to the belief that chance governs the unfolding of events rather than intention or design
2. A person who posits that randomness plays a crucial role in shaping experiences and outcomes in life
3. A thinker who asserts that occurrences are largely determined by fortuitous events instead of planned actions or designs

Etymology: The word is built from "accidental" plus the suffix "-ist", meaning one who holds a particular doctrine or practises a particular belief. The suffix itself has a long lineage: it passed from Ancient Greek "-istēs", through Latin "-ista", and Old French "-iste", before reaching English as "-ist" in Middle English. Each stage carried the same sense of an adherent or specialist. Put together, an accidentalist is someone who believes that events are shaped mainly by chance rather than by deliberate plan or design. The core idea is the same as that of "accidental" in its older sense of something that happens without intention, so the label marks a whole worldview rather than a single chance occurrence. The word is a transparent formation, with no folk etymology attached to it.