| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| accident |
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| SYLLABICATION: | ac·ci·dent |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   k s -d nt, -d nt |
| NOUN: | 1a. An unexpected and undesirable event, especially one resulting in damage or harm: car accidents on icy roads. b. An unforeseen incident: A series of happy accidents led to his promotion. c. An instance of involuntary urination or defecation in one's clothing. 2. Lack of intention; chance: ran into an old friend by accident. 3. Logic A circumstance or attribute that is not essential to the nature of something. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, chance event, from Old French, from Latin accid ns, accident-, present participle of accidere, to happen : ad-, ad- + cadere, to fall; see kad- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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