hapchance
hap·chance
By chance; at random; haphazardlyBy chance; at random; haphazardly.
UK/ˈhapˌtʃɑːns/US/ˈhæpˌtʃæn(t)s/
Meaning
1 senses(literary, not comparable, rare)By chance; at random; haphazardly.
Origin
hap (“luck, fortune, chance”) + chance (“chance, fortune”): a tautological compound, in whhap (“luck, fortune, chance”) + chance (“chance, fortune”): a tautological compound, in which both elements independently mean “chance”. Compare the similarly redundant haphazard (hap + hazard), and the synonymous happenchance and happenstance. Recorded from 1866, but attested chiefly in literary prose of the 20th century.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.