Serendipity

 

Serendipity means a "fortunate happenstance" or "pleasant surprise".
The first noted use of "serendipity" in the English language was by
Horace Walpole (1717–1797). In a letter to Horace Mann (dated 28
January 1754) he said he formed it from the Persian fairy tale The 
Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes "were always making
discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest
of". The name stems from Serendip, an old name for Sri Lanka
(aka Ceylon), from Tamil Ceralamdivu, Sanskrit Simhaladvipa and
Persian Sarandīp (سرندیپ). Parts of Sri Lanka were under the rule of
Tamil kings for extended periods of time in history. Kings of Kerala,
India (Cheranadu) were called Ceran Kings and divu, tivu or dheep
means island, the island belonging to the Chera King was called  
Cherandeep, hence Sarandib by Arab traders.