First recorded in 1490–1500, bonaventure is from the Italian word buonaventura literally, good luck. See bonus, venture
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The French for lugsail is voile de fortune, and a still earlier name, which occurs also in Tudor English, is bonaventure, i.e., good luck.
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest
Three ships—the Bona Speranza, the Edward Bonaventure, and the Bona Confidentia—set out from Gravesend, England seeking “discoverie of new trades northe warde” in Russia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
“It feels like there’s more every day,” St. Bonaventure University basketball GM Adrian Wojnarowski told MarketWatch last year.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026
Suddenly, my idea of great architecture broadened beyond the ornate church, grand mansion, distinctive Spanish Colonial or gleaming glass skyscrapers like the Westin Bonaventure hotel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
Servite 79, St. Bonaventure 38: The Friars improved to 6-1 behind Hugh Hannan, who had 18 points.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2025
I read on for half a page before I realized that I had left out the whole episode telling about Mr. Bonaventure and his money, so that what I was reading made no sense.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
