DIMENSIONS: CONTEXT / Relationship
R E F E R E N C E S
Happen v.i. 1. to take place; come to pass; occur. 2. to come to pass by chance; occur without apparent reason or design; chance. 3. to have the fortune or lot [to do or be as specified]: I happened to see him on the street. 4. to befall, as to a person or thing. 5. to meet or discover by chance [ usually fol. by on or upon]: To happen on a clue to the mystery. 6. to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance; My friend happened along. [ME hap(pe)nen, See Hap1 [ Archaic. -n. 1. a personÍs luck or lot. 2. an occurrrence, happening, or accident. -v.i. 2. to happen: if it so hap. [ME < Scand; cf. Icel Happ luck, chance; akin to OE geh˛ fit, convenient]
-Syn. 1. betide. Happen, Chance, Occur refer to the taking place of an event. Happen, which originally denoted the taking place by hap or chance, is now the most general word for coming to pass: When do you expect it to happen? Chance suggests the fortuituousness of an event:It chanced to rain that day. Occur is often interchangeable with Happen, but is more formal and is usually more specific as to time and event: His death occured the following year.
Happening n. 1. an occurence or event. 2. a dramatic or similar performance consisting chiefly of a series of discontinuous events. 3. any special event or gathering in which the audience is to perform a spontaneious creative part.
Happenstance n. chance; accident.
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]
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