fortune

From Middle English fortune, borrowed from Old French fortune, from Latin fortuna (“fate, luck”). The plural form fortunae meant “possessions”, which also gave fortune the meaning of “riches”.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːtʃuːn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹtʃən/, /ˈfɔɹtʃun/

• Audio (US, California)

  (file)

fortune (countable and uncountable, plural fortunes)

1. Destiny, especially favorable.

   She read my fortune. Apparently I will have a good love life this week, but I will have a bad week for money.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Mrs. Cowley

     you, who men's fortunes in their faces read

   • 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:

     […] his lordship was out of humour. That was the way Chollacombe described as knaggy an old gager as ever Charles had had the ill-fortune to serve.

2. A prediction or set of predictions about a person's future provided by a fortune teller.
3. A small slip of paper with wise or vaguely prophetic words printed on it, baked into a fortune cookie.
4. The arrival of something in a sudden or unexpected manner; chance; accident.
   • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare

     'Tis more by fortune, lady, than by merit.

5. Good luck.

   Fortune favors the brave.

   • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare

     There is a tide in the affairs of men, / Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.

6. One's wealth; the amount of money one has; especially, if it is vast.

   He's amassed a small fortune working in the Middle East.

   My vast fortune was a result of inheritance and stock market nous.

   Her fortune is estimated at 3 million dollars.

7. A large amount of money.

   That car must be worth a fortune! How could you afford it?

   • 2015 June 24, Chris Chappell as himself, “Top 10 Chinese Knockoffs of Foreign Products”, in China Uncensored‎, New Tang Dynasty Television, New Tang Dynasty Television, 00:02:53 from the start:

     Why spend a small fortune on Puma when you could buy Numa, Tuna or Pigg? And why buy Adidas when you can buy Adidos or Avivas? Nike, when there's Nire or Hike? Calvin Klein, when clearly, Calvim Klain or Cavern Kernel are just as good? But remember, after a good workout, be sure to clean up with some Okay shampoo.

• See also Thesaurus:wealth

• (good luck): doom, misfortune

fortune (third-person singular simple present fortunes, present participle fortuning, simple past and past participle fortuned)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To happen, take place. [14th-19th c.]
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew ch. 8:

     Then the heerdmen, fleed and went there ways into the cite, and tolde everythinge, and what had fortuned unto them that were possessed of the devyls.

   • 1885, Sir Richard Burton, “Night 20”, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night:

     It fortuned one night that the Sultan purposed setting out on a journey next morning

2. To provide with a fortune.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Richardson to this entry?)

3. To presage; to tell the fortune of.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)

• ten-four

From Middle French fortune, from Old French fortune, borrowed from Latin fortūna.

• IPA^(key): /fɔʁ.tyn/

• Audio

  (file)

fortune f (plural fortunes)

1. fortune

   faire une fortune

   make a fortune

   faire fortune

   make a fortune

• de fortune

• “fortune” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• IPA^(key): [forˈt̪uː.ne]
• Rhymes: -une

fortune f

1. plural of fortuna

• funtore

From Old French fortune, from Latin fortuna.

fortune (plural fortunes)

1. fortune (fate, chance)

• English: fortune
  • → Welsh: ffortiwn
• Scots: fortuin

From Old French fortune, borrowed from Latin fortuna.

fortune f (plural fortunes)

1. fortune (fate, chance)

• French: fortune

fortune c (uncountable)

1. good luck