First published 1897; not yet revised More entries for "fortunate"
fortunateadjective (& noun)
Factsheet
What does the adjective fortunate mean?
There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective fortunate. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
Entry status
OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.
How common is the adjective fortunate?
About 9occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1750 | 11 |
| 1760 | 13 |
| 1770 | 19 |
| 1780 | 23 |
| 1790 | 25 |
| 1800 | 23 |
| 1810 | 22 |
| 1820 | 22 |
| 1830 | 21 |
| 1840 | 21 |
| 1850 | 20 |
| 1860 | 19 |
| 1870 | 18 |
| 1880 | 18 |
| 1890 | 18 |
| 1900 | 18 |
| 1910 | 17 |
| 1920 | 17 |
| 1930 | 16 |
| 1940 | 15 |
| 1950 | 13 |
| 1960 | 12 |
| 1970 | 10 |
| 1980 | 8.6 |
| 1990 | 8.1 |
| 2000 | 8.1 |
| 2010 | 8.4 |
How is the adjective fortunate pronounced?
British English
/ˈfɔːtʃn̩ət/
FOR-chuhn-uht
/ˈfɔːtʃ(ə)nət/
FORTCH-uh-nuht
U.S. English
/ˈfɔrtʃ(ə)nət/
FORTCH-uh-nuht
Where does the adjective fortunate come from?
Earliest known use
Middle English
The earliest known use of the adjective fortunate is in the Middle English period (1150—1500).
OED's earliest evidence for fortunate is from around 1386, in the writing of Geoffrey Chaucer, poet and administrator.
fortunate is a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: Latin fortūnātus.
Nearby entries
- fortuitist, n.1890–
- fortuitness, n.1643
- fortuitous, adj.1653–
- fortuitously, adv.a1652–
- fortuitousness, n.1652–
- fortuity, n.a1747–
- fortunable, adj.c1465–1606
- fortunably, adv.?1567
- fortunacy, n.1580–1624
- fortunary, n.1652
- fortunate, adj.c1386–
- fortunate, v.c1420–1792
- fortunateling, n.1605
- fortunately, adv.1548–
- fortunateness, n.1530–
- fortunation, n.c1470–1727
- fortune, n.a1300–
- fortune, v.c1369–
- fortune, adv.a1535–1600
- Fortune 1000, n.1978–
- Fortune 500, n.1972–
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for fortunate, adj.
fortunate, adj. was first published in 1897; not yet revised.
fortunate, adj. was last modified in September 2023.
Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:
- corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into fortunate, adj. in September 2023.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
OED First Edition (1897)
OED Second Edition (1989)
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Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .
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Citation details
Factsheet for fortunate, adj.
Browse entry
Nearby entries
- fortuitist, n.1890–
- fortuitness, n.1643
- fortuitous, adj.1653–
- fortuitously, adv.a1652–
- fortuitousness, n.1652–
- fortuity, n.a1747–
- fortunable, adj.c1465–1606
- fortunably, adv.?1567
- fortunacy, n.1580–1624
- fortunary, n.1652
- fortunate, adj.c1386–
- fortunate, v.c1420–1792
- fortunateling, n.1605
- fortunately, adv.1548–
- fortunateness, n.1530–
- fortunation, n.c1470–1727
- fortune, n.a1300–
- fortune, v.c1369–
- fortune, adv.a1535–1600
- Fortune 1000, n.1978–
- Fortune 500, n.1972–
