LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“fortune” in Latin

The English word fortune itself goes back to Latin fortūna.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

fortune
(including “good fortune”)(including “good fortune”), fortuna (the fortunate event which chance, fors, brings to pass, without any co-operation of ours; also, fortune personified as a deity; and in the plur. = goods bestowed on anybody by fortune): felicitas (the happy condition, fortune, as brought about by prudence, management, and talent; consequently, with man’s co-operation): salus (welfare): fors: sors: casus (chance, accident, with this distinction, that fors means a change or accident we cannot account for; sors, a man’s lot or fate, either as brought to pass by “fors,” or prepared by the man himself; casus denotes a single chance or accident that befalls anybody, and may be conducive either to his happiness or the reverse; this also, is brought to pass by “fors;” Vid: Hor., Sat., 1, 1, 1; 1, 6, 53): bonum (a good or gift bestowed on us by fortune): fortuna secunda or prospera; casus secundus (happy or fortunate event or circumstance; opposed to fortuna adversa, casus adversus): fortuna florens: res secundae or prosperae or florentes (fortunate circumstances, with reference to property, possession, domestic affairs, opposed to spoliata fortuna: res adversae): successus (favorable progress; of undertakings): eventus prosper (success): exitus prosper, felix, fortunatus (happy or favorable result or end): alea (something uncertain, risk, the trial of one’s luck). Blind fortune, fortuna caeca; casus caecus (a mere accident): he has obtained such wealth by one of fortune’s freaks, temeritate fortunae tantas opes adeptus est: by good fortune, forte fortuna (e.g., adfuit meus amicus); opportune (luckily; e.g., venit): may good fortune attend you! bene vertat! (as wish), quod approbet Deus, or approbent dii! hanc rem tibi volo bene et feliciter evenire: I rejoice in your good fortune, haud invideo tibi: fortune smiles upon anybody; he is favored by fortune, fortuna alicui favet, arridet, affulget: fortuna blanditur coeptis suis (i. e., habitually); fortuna prospera (secunda), or prospero flatu fortunae utitur (in a single instance; e.g., in an undertaking; the latter, Cic., Off., 2, 6, 19, in contradistinction to fortuna reflat); in omnibus rebus utitur felicitate; res alicui semper succedunt, or semper prospere eveniunt (in all cases): to experience good fortune in anything, fortuna uti in re: fortune favors anybody’s plans, comprobat alicujus consilium fortuna: to be a favorite of fortune, fortunae filium or alumnum esse (Hor., Sat., 2, 6, 49; Plin., 7, 7, 5); albae gallinae esse filium (Juv., 13, 141; but “fortunae in gremio sedere,” Cic., De Divin., 2, 41, 85, is said of Jupiter sitting in the lap of his nurse, the goddess Fortune; and hence is to be avoided in this proverbial saying): he had principally to thank his good fortune, that, etc., multum fortuna valuit ad, etc.: not to bear one’s good fortune meekly, rebus secundis or felicitate efferri: to consider it a piece of good fortune that, etc., felicem se dicere hoc, quod, etc.: to look upon anything as a piece of great good fortune, *aliquid in magna felicitatis suae parte ponere: to follow up one’s good fortune, successus suos urgere; fortunae suae instare: anybody’s good fortune deserts him; fortune frowns upon anybody, a fortuna desertum or derelictum esse (in war): to have one’s fortune in one’s own hands, fortunam in manibus habere: I have the good fortune to, etc., contingit mihi, ut, etc.: to place one’s fortunes in anybody’s hands, alicui fortunas suas committere: to try one’s fortune, whether one is to be master or slave, in dubiam imperii servitiique aleam ire (Liv., 1, 23, 9): to leave anything to fortune, aleam alicujus rei subire or adire: rem dare in aleam or in casum (to risk): to try one’s fortune, fortunam tentare or periclitari.
Property, facultates: divitiae: pecuniae: bona, orum, plur.: res familiaris: fortunae: patrimonium: census: [SYN. in RICHES.] To have a fortune, opes habere; bona possidere; in bonis esse; in possessione bonorum esse: to have a great fortune, magnas facultates habere; locupletem et pecuniosum esse; copiis rei familiaris abundare: to have no fortune, facultatibus carere; pauperem esse: to come to (a) fortune, facultates acquirere: to make a fortune, bona sibi parare or sibi colligere: to increase one’s fortune, rem familiarem or facultates augere: to squander or spend one’s fortune, bona profundere; rem familiarem dissipare; bona abligurire (the last by expenses of the table): anybody’s fortune is all spent, opes familiares defecerunt: it is very rarely that a man improves his fortune by gambling, pauci admodum aleae lusu rebus suis consuluere.
Of a woman, Vid: DOWRY.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for fortune?
The usual Latin words for “fortune” are fortūna, fēlīcitās, salūs; also fors, sors, cāsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.