accidently

Definition

Accidentally; by chance, unintentionally.

Etymology

From Middle English accidently, accidentli (“by chance; temporarily; artificially”), equivalent to accident + -ly.

Example Sentences

• "[T]he exceptions remind me of an ingenious conjecture respecting Newton: that he was probably a being of a superior order, accidently caged in a human body."
• "As I arrived at the foot of the hill I overtook two ladies, whom I passed. As I did so, I brushed one of them accidently on the arm."
• "[W]hich arises from four galaxies at four quite different distances that accidently appear close together in the sky. The second line represents two galaxies close together in space and the other two accidently close in projection, the third line close triplets plus a fourth accidently close in projection, the fourth line two close pairs accidently seen close together in projection."