accident

Definitions

1. 1.(Gram.) A property attached to a word, but not essential to it, as gender, number, case.
2. 2.(Her.) A point or mark which may be retained or omitted in a coat of arms.
3. 3.(Log.) (a) A property or quality of a thing which is not essential to it, as whiteness in paper; an attribute. (b) A quality or attribute in distinction from the substance, as sweetness, softness.
4. 4.Any accidental property, fact, or relation; an accidental or nonessential; as, beauty is an accident. This accident, as I call it, of Athens being situated some miles from the sea. J. P. Mahaffy.
5. 5.Unusual appearance or effect. [Obs.] Chaucer. Note: Accident, in Law, is equivalent to casus, or such unforeseen, extraordinary, extraneous interference as is out of the range of ordinary calculation.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "accident" mean?
• What is another word for "accident"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is accident.

• What is a property attached to a word, but not essential to it, as gender, number, case called?
• What is a point or mark which may be retained or omitted in a coat of arms called?
• What is (a) A property or quality of a thing which is not essential to it, as whiteness in paper; an attribute. (b) A quality or attribute in distinction from the substance, as sweetness, softness called?
• What is any accidental property, fact, or relation; an accidental or nonessential; as, beauty is an accident. This accident, as I call it, of Athens being situated some miles from the sea. J. P. Mahaffy called?
• What is unusual appearance or effect. [Obs.] Chaucer. Note: Accident, in Law, is equivalent to casus, or such unforeseen, extraordinary, extraneous interference as is out of the range of ordinary calculation called?