the.com/misfortune
the universe's way of reminding you that your plans were never the boss
means a piece of bad luck or an unfortunate event, especially one that brings real harm or hardship.
from From the prefix 'mis-' (wrong, bad — the same Germanic 'mis-' that sours 'mistake' and 'misdeed') bolted onto 'fortune,' which sailed in through French from Latin 'fortuna,' the goddess and her famous wheel of luck. So 'misfortune' is literally luck gone wrong — Fortune turning her wheel the way you'd rather she didn't.
- word origin
- From Latin fortuna, the goddess who spun a wheel
- superstition
- Broken mirror dread dates to ancient soul-reflection beliefs
- physics
- Murphy's Law began with real 1949 rocket-sled tests
- language
- Schadenfreude means joy at another's misfortune, no English equivalent
- folklore
- Friday the 13th fear has a name: paraskevidekatriaphobia
titanic sinking — 1,500+ deaths when the ship hit an iceberg and sank in 1912
krakatoa eruption — 36,000+ people killed in indonesia in 1883, one of history's deadliest natural disasters
job biblical figure — old testament character who suffered extreme losses—family, wealth, health—as a test of faith