Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FOR-TU'I-TOUS, a. [L. fortuitus, from the root of fors, forte, fortuna; Fr. fortuit; It. and Sp. fortuito. The primary sense is, to come, to fall, to happen. See Fare.]

Accidental; casual; happening by chance; coming or occurring unexpectedly, or without any known cause. We speak of fortuitous events, when they occur without our foreseeing or expecting them, and of a fortuitous concourse of atoms, when we suppose the concourse not to result from the design and power of a controlling agent. But an event can not be in fact fortuitous. [See Accidental and Casual.]