happening








noun

  1. something that happens; occurrence; event.
  2. an unconventional dramatic or artistically orchestrated performance, often a series of discontinuous events involving audience participation.
  3. any event considered worthwhile, unusual, or interesting.

verb (used without object)

  1. to take place; come to pass; occur: Something interesting is always happening in New York.
  2. to come to pass by chance; occur without apparent reason or design: Don’t ask me what caused it—it just happened, that’s all.
  3. to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified); chance: I happened to see him on the street.
  4. to befall, as to a person or thing: Something dreadful has happened to me.
  5. to meet or discover by chance (usually followed by on or upon): to happen on a clue to a mystery.
  6. to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance: My friend happened along.
  7. Slang. to be very exciting or interesting: That party was happening!

noun

  1. an occurrence; event
  2. an improvised or spontaneous display or performance consisting of bizarre and haphazard events

adjective

  1. informal fashionable and up-to-the-minute

verb

  1. (intr) (of an event in time) to come about or take place; occur
  2. (intr foll by to) (of some unforeseen circumstance or event, esp death), to fall to the lot (of); be a source of good or bad fortune (to)if anything happens to me, it’ll be your fault
  3. (tr) to chance (to be or do something)I happen to know him
  4. (tr; takes a clause as object) to be the case, esp if by chance, thatit happens that I know him

adverb, sentence substitute

  1. Northern English dialect
    1. another word for perhaps
    2. (as sentence modifier)happen I’ll see thee tomorrow
n.

mid-15c., “chance, luck,” from present participle of happen; meaning “occurrence” is 1550s. Sense of “spontaneous event or display” is from 1959 in the argot of artists. Happenings “events” was noted by Fowler as a vogue word from c.1905.

v.

c.1300, “to come to pass, occur,” originally “occur by hap, to have the (good or bad) fortune (to do, be, etc.);” see hap (n.). Replaced Old English gelimpan, gesceon, and Middle English befall. In Middle English fel it hap meant “it happened.” Related: Happened; happening.

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