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Webster 1913 Edition

Accidental

Acˊci-den′tal

,
Adj.
[Cf. F.
accidentel
, earlier
accidental
.]
1.
Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; casual; fortuitous;
as, an
accidental
visit
.
2.
Nonessential; not necessary belonging; incidental;
as, are
accidental
to a play
.
Accidental chords
(Mus.)
,
those which contain one or more tones foreign to their proper harmony.
–
Accidental colors
(Opt.)
,
colors depending on the hypersensibility of the retina of the eye for complementary colors. They are purely subjective sensations of color which often result from the contemplation of actually colored bodies.
–
Accidental point
(Persp.)
,
the point in which a right line, drawn from the eye, parallel to a given right line, cuts the perspective plane; so called to distinguish it from the principal point, or point of view, where a line drawn from the eye perpendicular to the perspective plane meets this plane.
–
Accidental lights
(Paint.)
,
secondary lights; effects of light other than ordinary daylight, such as the rays of the sun darting through a cloud, or between the leaves of trees; the effect of moonlight, candlelight, or burning bodies.
Fairholt.
Syn. – Casual; fortuitous; contingent; occasional; adventitious.
–
Accidental
,
Incidental
,
Casual
,
Fortuitous
,
Contingent
. We speak of a thing as accidental when it falls out as by chance, and not in the regular course of things;
as, an
accidental
meeting, an
accidental
advantage, etc.
We call a thing incidental when it falls, as it were, into some regular course of things, but is secondary, and forms no essential part thereof;
as, an
incremental
remark, an
incidental
evil, an
incidental
benefit
. We speak of a thing as casual, when it falls out or happens, as it were, by mere chance, without being prearranged or premeditated;
as, a
casual
remark or encounter; a casual observer
. An idea of the unimportant is attached to what is casual. Fortuitous is applied to what occurs without any known cause, and in opposition to what has been foreseen;
as, a
fortuitous
concourse of atoms
. We call a thing contingent when it is such that, considered in itself, it may or may not happen, but is dependent for its existence on something else;
as, the time of my coming will be
contingent
on intelligence yet to be received
.

Acˊci-den′tal

,
Noun.
1.
A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.
He conceived it just that
accidentals
. . . should sink with the substance of the accusation.
Fuller.
2.
pl.
(Paint.)
Those fortuitous effects produced by luminous rays falling on certain objects so that some parts stand forth in abnormal brightness and other parts are cast into a deep shadow.
3.
(Mus.)
A sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note.

Webster 1828 Edition

Accidental

ACCIDENT'AL

,
Adj.
1.
Happening by chance, or rather unexpectedly; casual; fortuitous, taking place not according to the usual course of things; opposed to that which is constant, regular, or intended, as an accidental visit.
2.
Non-essential; not necessarily belonging to; as songs are accidental to a play.
Accidental colors, are those which depend upon the affections of the eye, in distinction from those which belong to the light itself.
Accidental point, in perspective, is that point in the horizontal line, where the projections of two lines parallel to each other, meet the perspective plane.

Definition 2024

accidental

accidental

English

Adjective

accidental ‎(comparative more accidental, superlative most accidental)

  1. Not essential; incidental, secondary. [from 14th c.]
  2. (philosophy) Nonessential to something's inherent nature (especially in Aristotelian thought). [from 14th c.]
  3. (music) Adjusted by one or two semitones, in temporary departure from the key signature. [from 16th c.]
  4. Occurring sometimes, by chance; occasional. [from 16th c.]
  5. Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; by accident, unintentional. [from 16th c.]
    • 1603, John Florio, Essays, translation of original by Michel de Montaigne, III.1:
      The way to trueth is but one and simple, that of particular profit and benefit of affaires a man hath in charge, double, uneven and accidentall [transl. fortuite].
  6. (geometry) Being a double point with two distinct tangent planes in 4-dimensional projective space.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

accidental ‎(plural accidentals)

  1. A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Fuller, (Please provide the title of the work):
      He conceived it just that accidentals ... should sink with the substance of the accusation.
  2. (painting, plural only) Those fortuitous effects produced by luminous rays falling on certain objects so that some parts stand forth in abnormal brightness and other parts are cast into a deep shadow.
  3. (music) A sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note.

Translations

Catalan

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -al

Adjective

accidental m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural accidentals)

  1. accidental

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French accidentel.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ak.t͡ʃi.denˈtal/

Adjective

accidental m, n ‎(feminine singular accidentală, masculine plural accidentali, feminine and neuter plural accidentale)

  1. accidental

Declension

Related terms

Spanish

Adjective

accidental m, f ‎(plural accidentales)

  1. nonessential
  2. accidental

Noun

accidental m ‎(plural accidentales)

  1. (music) accidental

Synonyms

Etymology

Borrowing from Anglo-Norman accidentel, Middle French accidentel, accidental, and their source, Late Latin accidēntālis; corresponding to accident +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /aksᵻˈdɛntl̩/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌæk.sə.ˈdɛn.(t)əl/
  • Rhymes: -ɛntəl

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