accidental
/ˌæk.sɪˈdɛn.tl̩/ adjective, noun
Forms accidentals accidentall
- adjective Pertaining to accident and not essence; thus, inessential; incidental; secondary.
- adjective (philosophy) Nonessential to something's inherent nature (especially in Aristotelian thought).
- adjective (music) Adjusted by one or two semitones, in temporary departure from the key signature.
- adjective Occurring sometimes, by chance; occasional.
- adjective Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; by accident, unintentional. “The discovery was purely accidental.”
- adjective (geometry) Being a double point with two distinct tangent planes in 4-dimensional projective space.
- noun A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.
- noun (painting, plural only) Those fortuitous effects produced by luminous rays falling on certain objects so that some parts stand forth in abnormal brightness and other parts are cast into a deep shadow.
- noun (music) A sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note.
- noun Part of a text that has a mainly structural purpose, such as spelling, punctuation, or capitalization.
Synonyms
adventitious circumstantial incidental casual contingent fortuitous occasional serendipitous accidentary by accident by the by causeless chanceable lippening random unforeseen unintended unintentional unplanned inadvertent
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English accidental, from Anglo-Norman accidentel, Middle French accidentel, accidental, and their source, Late Latin accidēntālis; corresponding to accident + -al.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; casual; fortuitous; as, an accidental visit.
- adjective Nonessential; not necessary belonging; incidental; as, are accidental to a play. Accidental chords (Mus.), those which contain one or more tones foreign to their proper harmony.
- noun A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.
- noun pl. (Paint.)
Etymology [Cf. F. accidentel, earlier accidental.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “accidental”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details