Dictionary / fortune
fortune
- noun
- verb
- from Old French
Destiny, especially favorable.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “fortune” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- countableuncountableDestiny, especially favorable.
She read my fortune. Apparently I will have a good love life this week, but I will have a bad week for money.
- countableuncountableA prediction or set of predictions about a person's future provided by a fortune teller.
- countableuncountableA small slip of paper with wise or vaguely prophetic words printed on it, baked into a fortune cookie.
- countableuncountableThe arrival of something in a sudden or unexpected manner; chance; accident.
'Tis more by fortune, lady, than by merit.c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry Gosson, […], published 1
- countableuncountableGood luck.
fame and fortune
- countableuncountableOne's wealth; the amount of money one has, especially if it is vast.
He's amassed a small fortune working in the Middle East.
- countableuncountableA large amount of money.
That car must be worth a fortune! How could you afford it?
verb
- transitiveTo provide (someone) with a fortune.
- transitiveTo tell the fortune of (someone); to presage.
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- intransitiveobsoleteTo happen, to take place.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (4)
- nounan unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another — also: luck, chance, hazard
- nouna large amount of wealth or prosperity
- nounan unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that leads to a favorable outcome — also: luck
- nounyour overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you) — also: destiny, fate, luck, lot, circumstances
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)fortune
- Middle Englishfortune
- Old Frenchfortune
- Latinfortuna “fate, luck”
From Middle English fortune, from Old French fortune, from Latin fortuna (“fate, luck”). The plural form fortunae meant “possessions”, which also gave fortune the meaning of “riches”.
Derivatives — words built from “fortune”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “fortune” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “fortune” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
fortune n. [F. fortune, L. fortuna; akin to fors, fortis, chance, prob. fr. ferre to bear, bring. See Bear to support, and cf. Fortuitous.]
- The arrival of something in a sudden or unexpected manner; chance; accident; luck; hap; also, the personified or deified power regarded as determining human success, apportioning happiness and unhappiness, and distributing arbitrarily or fortuitously the lots of life.
- That which befalls or is to befall one; lot in life, or event in any particular undertaking; fate; destiny; as, to tell one's fortune.
- That which comes as the result of an undertaking or of a course of action; good or ill success; especially, favorable issue; happy event; success; prosperity as reached partly by chance and partly by effort.
fortune v. t. [OF. fortuner, L. fortunare. See Fortune, n.]
- To make fortunate; to give either good or bad fortune to.
- To provide with a fortune.
- To presage; to tell the fortune of.
fortune v. i.
- To fall out; to happen.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: Destiny, especially favorable.
She read my fortune. Apparently I will have a good love life this week, but I will have a bad week for money.
you, who men's fortunes in their faces read1647, Abraham Cowley, “My Fate”, in The Mistress:
nounMeaning: The arrival of something in a sudden or unexpected manner; chance; accident.
'Tis more by fortune, lady, than by merit.c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry Gosson, […], published 1
nounMeaning: Good luck.
fame and fortune
Fortune favors the brave.
nounMeaning: One's wealth; the amount of money one has, especially if it is vast.
He's amassed a small fortune working in the Middle East.
My vast fortune was a result of inheritance and stock market nous.
nounMeaning: A large amount of money.
That car must be worth a fortune! How could you afford it?
nounMeaning: an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that leads to a favorable outcome
it was as if fortune guided his hand
nounMeaning: your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
whatever my fortune may be
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
fortune
/ˈfɔːtjuːn/ · for·tune
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
fortune
/ˈfɔːtjuːn/ · for·tune · noun, verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “fortune” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“She read my fortune. Apparently I will have a good love life this week, but I will have a bad week for money.”
Circle the meaning used.
“fame and fortune”
Circle the meaning used.
“He's amassed a small fortune working in the Middle East.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “fortune” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Latin fortuna. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — fortune
Which meaning, sentence 1: C. Destiny, especially favorable.
Which meaning, sentence 2: B. Good luck.
Which meaning, sentence 3: B. One's wealth; the amount of money one has, especially if it is vast.
Origin: A. Old French (Old French fortune)
Journey: English fortune ← Middle English fortune ← Old French fortune ← Latin fortuna
Some derivatives: befortune, fortunate, fortune-hunter, fortuneless, fortune-seeker, fortune-tell, fortune-teller, fortune-telling
Original meaning: Latin fortuna — “fate, luck”
Etymology: From Middle English fortune, from Old French fortune, from Latin fortuna (“fate, luck”). The plural form fortunae meant “possessions”, which also gave fortune the meaning of “riches”.
Sources: Wiktionary “fortune” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fortune#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/fortune