Perchance

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˌpɜːˈtʃɑːns/

Definitions

1. It may happen that an event occurs unexpectedly or by accident
2. There exists a possibility that a certain outcome might arise without prior planning
3. Expressing the idea that something might occur without certainty or deliberate intention

Etymology: "Perchance" is a phrase that was once a plain description of luck. It comes from Old French "par cheance," meaning "by chance," which carried the sense of something falling out by fortune rather than design. Middle English borrowed the phrase as "parchaunce," and over time the two words fused into the single adverb we use now. The word's meaning has stayed close to its roots: it still signals that something may occur by chance. What has changed is its tone. Where it once sounded like ordinary speech about fortune, it now reads as deliberately old-fashioned, the sort of word more often found in poetry, Shakespearean-style dialogue, or a playful turn of phrase than in everyday conversation.

Synonyms: perhaps, maybe, possibly

Antonyms: certainly, definitely, surely