Serendip
/ˌsɛrənˈdɪp/noun
An old name for Sri Lanka, used in literature and as the source of the word serendipity.
Did you know?Serendip is the Persian/Arabic-derived name for Sri Lanka that entered English through a 16th-century tale where princes keep stumbling into brilliant discoveries by accident.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Persian/Arabic
Persian/Arabic
Sarandib / Serendib
“A name for the island of Sri Lanka”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
Sarandīb
“The island of Sri Lanka, known in travel literature”
14th–15th Century
Persian
Sarandīb
“A literary and geographic name for Sri Lanka”
1557
English
Serendip
“The island name as used in a translation of a Persian tale”
1754
English
serendipity
“The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident”
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