Hypertext Webster Gateway: "luck"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Luck \Luck\, n. [Akin to D. luk, geluk, G. gl["u]ck, Icel.
lukka, Sw. lycka, Dan. lykke, and perh. to G. locken to
entice. Cf. 3d {Gleck}.]
That which happens to a person; an event, good or ill,
affecting one's interests or happiness, and which is deemed
casual; a course or series of such events regarded as
occurring by chance; chance; hap; fate; fortune; often, one's
habitual or characteristic fortune; as, good, bad, ill, or
hard luck. Luck is often used for good luck; as, luck is
better than skill.
If thou dost play with him at any game, Thou art sure
to lose; and of that natural luck, He beats thee
'gainst the odds. --Shak.
{Luck penny}, a small sum given back for luck to one who pays
money. [Prov. Eng.]
{To be in luck}, to receive some good, or to meet with some
success, in an unexpected manner, or as the result of
circumstances beyond one's control; to be fortunate.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
luck
n 1: your overall circumstances or condition in life (including
everything that happens to you): "whatever my fortune
may be"; "deserved a better fate"; "has a happy lot";
"the luck of the Irish"; "a victim of circumstances";
"success that was her portion" [syn: {fortune}, {destiny},
{fate}, {lot}, {circumstances}, {portion}]
2: an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event
to result one way rather than another; "bad luck caused
his downfall"; "we ran into each other by pure chance"
[syn: {fortune}, {chance}, {hazard}]
3: an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that leads to a
favorable outcome; "it was my good luck to be there";
"they say luck is a lady"; "it was as if fortune guided
his hand" [syn: {fortune}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.