'serendipitous' originates from the English word 'serendipity', which was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754, inspired by the Persian fairy tale 'The Three Princes of Serendip', where 'Serendip' referred to the island of Sri Lanka.

'Serendipity' was coined in the 18th century and evolved into the adjective 'serendipitous' to describe events or discoveries that occur by chance.

Initially, it referred to the act of making fortunate discoveries by accident, and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.