RDP Tuesday: Serendipity
1754: coined by Horace Walpole, suggested by The Three Princes of Serendip, the title of a fairy tale in which the heroes “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of.”
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Well, you learn something new every day. I’ve always wondered where this word came from, never heard of the story before. Three Princes from a place called Serendip seem to have set out looking for adventure, and were constantly coming across surprising and positive events that made them happy.
Okay, so where did the name Serendip come from? Once source says the name comes from an old name for Sri Lanka (Ceylon), hence Sarandibby Arab traders. It is derived from the Sanskrit Siṃhaladvīpaḥ (Siṃhalaḥ, Sri Lanka + dvīpaḥ, island).
I guess that makes a lot of sense.
Anyway, I’ve never read the story but now I’m quite curious. I just made a quick popover to Amazon and bought a used soft-cover copy for $5.00. Which I found serendipituous, because the first listing was a hard cover for $120! My word.
And that’s all for today, folks 🙂
Just Writing! 