Serendipity

Every language has some expressions that are hard to translate into other languages. In German, for example, there is the word "waldeinsamkeit", which means "loneliness of the forest". The Germans use it to describe the solitude and connection with nature you feel when walking alone among trees.

In English, one such unique word is "serendipity". It can be translated as "a lucky discovery", or "the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance". The first recorded use of the word "serendipity" dates back to 1754. It was invented by the Gothic writer Horace Walpole. He also introduced words such as malaria, souvenir and nuance into the English language.

Some may have heard the word thanks to the popular 2001 romantic comedy Serendipity with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. The two characters meet at a shop when both are trying to buy the same pair of gloves. After the unexpected encounter, they share a dessert at a real New York cafe called Serendipity III. So the complicated love story begins.

Distributors all over the world struggled to adapt the title into their languages. In Portugal it was called A Happy Chance, in Russia the movie was released under the name Intuition, and in France it is known simply as A Love in New York. Yet despite being so hard to explain to foreigners, in 2000, "serendipity" was voted as the most beloved word by the British public ("Quidditch" came in second). The choice of a favourite word seems a bit serendipitous itself.