Fortune

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈfɔːt͡ʃuːn/

Definitions

1. A large amount of money or assets, or the chance events that shape one's life circumstances
2. Destiny or luck that determines whether someone experiences success or failure in their endeavors
3. A substantial sum of wealth accumulated over time, or the unpredictable circumstances that influence outcomes

Etymology: The Roman goddess Fortuna was the personification of luck, chance and fate, and her name was the root of a word that eventually came to mean wealth. The surprise lies in the plural. Latin "fortunae," the plural of "fortuna," came to mean "possessions," so a person's fortunes were simply their goods and property. Over time that sense narrowed and strengthened into "riches," and the word's meaning shifted from something no one controls to something a person can count. The path into English ran through Old French "fortune," which had descended from the Latin noun. Middle English then took the word in the same sense of chance or destiny, so the English word carried both the idea of luck and the later idea of wealth. The modern meaning of a large sum of money is the one that survives most strongly today, while the older sense of fate lingers in phrases about fortune favouring the bold.

Synonyms: luck, prosperity, wealth

Antonyms: misfortune, poverty