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for·tune (fôrchən)
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n.
1.
a. The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; luck: He decided to travel, and his fortune turned for the worse.
b. fortunes The turns of luck in the course of one's life.
c. Success, especially when at least partially resulting from luck: No matter what they tried, it ended in fortune.
2.
a. A person's condition or standing in life determined by material possessions or financial wealth: She pursued her fortune in Rome.
b. Extensive amounts of material possessions or money; wealth.
c. A large sum of money: spent a fortune on the new car.
3. often Fortune A hypothetical, often personified force or power that favorably or unfavorably governs the events of one's life: We believe that Fortune is on our side.
4.
a. Fate; destiny: told my fortune with tarot cards.
b. A foretelling of one's destiny.
v. for·tuned, for·tun·ing, for·tunes
v.tr.
1. Archaic To endow with wealth.
2. Obsolete To ascribe or give good or bad fortune to.
v.intr.
Archaic
To occur by chance; happen.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin fortūna; see bher-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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