kismet

[kiz-met, kis-]

noun

1. fate; destiny.

   It must have been kismet that brought the bride and groom together a year ago.

kismet

/ ˈkɪzmɛt, ˈkɪs- /

noun

1. Islam the will of Allah

2. fate or destiny

Word History and Origins

Origin of kismet¹

First recorded in 1840–50; from Turkish, from Persian qismat, from Arabic qisma, qismat- “division, portion, lot, fate,” akin to qasama “(he) divided,” from the (West) Semitic root qsm “to divide, allot”

Word History and Origins

Origin of kismet¹

C19: from Turkish, from Persian qismat, from Arabic qasama he divided

Example Sentences

“It’s one of those things that felt like kismet,” Cuthbertson says.

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But as the two sides got to know one another, they realized the partnership was kismet—and a ripe opportunity to revitalize an iconic American brand.

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“Like with The Beatles, because it’s those four . . . it’s a kismet getting together of a certain group of people. And I think that’s very much what ‘Rocky Horror’ was.

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A similar sort of casting kismet struck with Frankenstein when Andrew Garfield’s schedule forced him out of the monster role nine weeks before shooting was set to begin.

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Then all of a sudden “The Pitt” happened — and it felt like kismet.

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When To Use

What does kismet mean?

Kismet means fate or destiny.In Islam, kismet refers to the will of Allah. But it is popularly used to refer to something that one believes was “meant to be”—or the reason why such a thing happened. It can also be spelled kismat, but that’s much less common.Example: We ran into each other on Valentine’s Day, and neither of us had a date, so who was I to deny kismet?