Also 5 forteyn(e, 6 forten, fortone. [a. OF. fortune-r to assign fortune to, make fortunate, ad. L. fortūnāre to make fortunate, f. fortūna: see FORTUNE sb.]
† 1. trans. To assign a (certain) fortune to (a person, affair, etc.); to allot, regulate, or control the fortunes of. Obs.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 1519.
| O stronge god, that in the regnes colde | |
| Of Trace honoured art and lord yholde, | |
| And hast in euery regne and euery lond | |
| Of armes al the brydel in thyn hond, | |
| And hem fortunest as thee list deuise. |
1390. Gower, Conf., III. 361.
| Wiþ many an oþer mo, | |
| Which hadden be fortuned sore | |
| In loves cause. |
c. 1440. Generydes, 1429.
| Yet cowde I not eskape owt of the pitte, | |
| ffor all the craft that I cowde wele devise; | |
| Butt atte last, as god wold fortune it, | |
| Ye all only, and by your interprise, | |
| Owt of daunger ye causid me to rise. |
1606. Shaks., Ant. & Cl., I. ii. 77. Deere Isis, keep decorum, and Fortune him accordingly.
† b. To ordain (a person), as his fortune or luck, to do something; to ordain (something) to happen, or that it shall happen. Obs.
c. 1430. Syr Gener. (Roxb.), 1187.
| If god you fortune oones come to elde, | |
| Ye be ful liklie armes to welde. |
1463. Bury Wills (Camden), 18. What day God fortune yt I desesse.
1536. Bellenden, Cron. Scot. (1821), II. 371. Gif God fortunit him to be on live.
1600. Fairfax, Tasso, V. xci.
| That Lord, who helpt you out at euerie need, | |
| When ought befell this glorious campe amis, | |
| Shall fortune all your actions well to speed, | |
| On whom his mercie large extended is. |
† c. in Astrol.: To ascribe a (certain) fortune to.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 419.
| Wel cowde he fortune the ascendent | |
| Of his ymages for his pacient. |
1477. Norton, Ord. Alch., v. in Ashm. (1652), 60.
| With Astrologie joyne Elements also, | |
| To fortune their Workings as theie goe. |
† d. To give good fortune to, make fortunate.
14[?]. Lydg., Temple Glas, 902.
| I myself also | |
| Shal þe fortune er þi tale be do. |
2. To endow with wealth or a fortune; to dower. (rare: cf. FORTUNED.) Also, to fortune off or out: to get (a daughter) off one’s hands by dowering her.
1748. Richardson, Clarissa (1811), II. xxv. 166. He is to fortune her out to a young lover!—Ah! the poor young lover!—Ah! the poor simple girl!
1835. Inglis, in Tait’s Mag., II. Jan., 31/1. It is no unusual thing to find farmers, who are in comfortable circumstances, living as poorly as the common labourer, or the rack-rented tenant of a few acres, in order that they may save a few hundreds for fortuning off their girls. Ibid. (1838), V. April, 253/1. They have dowered their wives, and fortuned their daughters, as if it could last for ever, without asking themselves how they are to live.
1881. Miss Laffan, Weeds, in Macm. Mag., XLIV. Sept., 389/1. She grumbled … over the expensive schooling of her two grand-daughters. The money, in her opinion, would have been far better kept to ‘fortune them off.’
† 3. intr. Of events, etc.: To happen, chance, occur. Const. to, unto, or dative obj. Obs.
c. 1369. Chaucer, Dethe Blaunche, 288. Swiche meruayles fortuned than.
1424. Paston Lett., No. 4, I. 14. What so ever fortunyd in the seyd pleynt.
c. 1450. Cokwolds Daunce, 166, in Hazl., E. P. P., I. 45.
| And ȝit for all hys grete honour, | |
| Hym selfe, noble kyng Arthour, | |
| Hath forteynd syche a chans. |
1532. Hervet, trans. Xenophon’s Househ. (1768), 42. If any thynge fortuned well to vs, we gaue her parte of it.
1547. Boorde, Brev. Health, ccl. 84 b. The impedimentes whiche doth fortune to the synewes may come by cuttynge of a sinewe, or by straynynge, or by starknesse, or by the crampe, or suche lyke matter or causes.
1620. Frier Rush, 23. This night hath fortuned to me a great aduenture.
1739. G. Ogle, Gualth. & Gris., 140.
| Safe, on this maxim, with GRISELDA rest! | |
| That all, that fortunes, fortunes for the best! |
b. impers. It fortunes = it happens or befalls. Const. with clause; also to, with (a person) or with dative obj. Also with omission of it. arch.
1462. J. Paston, in P. Lett., No. 461, II. 115. It so fortuned your seid besecher cowd not performe the seid apoyntement.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, IX. xvii. Hit fortuned me that I was a slepe in the wyndowe.
c. 1500. Melusine, xxiii. 156. Sith it hath fortuned thus with me.
c. 1510. Gesta Rom., Add. Stories (W. de W.), ii. 431. It fortuned after on a day, yt he gaue batayll vnto ye sayd kynge of Egypt, wherin he was greuously wounded.
1590. Marlowe, Edw. II., II. III. ii. How fortunes that he came not?
1622. Bacon, Hen. VII., 189. It so fortuned, that hee was taken by Pirates at Sea.
18[?]. Lowell, Dara, Poet. Wks. (1879), 378.
| Now when it fortuned that a king more wise | |
| Endued the realm with brain and hands and eyes | |
| He sought on every side men brave and just. |
1886. Burton, Arab. Nts., I. 14. So it fortuneth that I am toiling and distrest while thou takest thine ease and thy rest.
† c. followed by object and inf. (Sometimes a dative obj.; sometimes the phrase is equivalent to L. acc. and inf., or to the subj.-clause in 3 b). Obs.
c. 1420. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866), 204.
| As reson hathe rulyd my recles mynde, | |
| Be a wey wandryng as I went, | |
| A solom cite me fortunyd to fynde. |
1487. Will, in Surrey Archæol. Collect., III. 163. To serve to the honor of Almighty God at that auter before which it shall fortune me to be buried.
1508. Fisher, 7 Penit. Ps., i. Wks. (1876), 32. It may also fortune a man to be sory for his synne & to be confessed of the same.
1577–87. Holinshed, Chron., III. 1119/1. If it fortune no issue male to be borne of this matrimonie, but onelie females, in that case the eldest female should with full right succeed in the said lands and dominions of the low countries.
1591. Spenser, M. Hubberd, 631.
| Therefore if fortune thee in Court to liue, | |
| In case thou euer there wilt hope to thriue, | |
| To some of these thou must thy selfe apply. |
1603. Knolles, Hist. Turks (1621), 1279. If hereafter it should fortune any detriment or warre to be by any man made or done nnto the Hungarians.
1628. Digby, Voy. Medit. (1868), 3. If it should fortune each to loose other before wee attayne vnto the height of Cape St. Vincent.
† 4. With person or thing as subject: To happen or chance to be or to do (something). Obs.
1454. E. E. Wills (1882), 134. All myne other goodes whatso-euer they fortune to be, in valour.
1521. Fisher, Serm. agst. Luther, Wks. (1876), 313. This hooly gospel gracyously offereth vnto vs foure goodly instruccyons agaynst these daungerous tempestes of heresyes, whan so euer they fortune to aryse.
1570. Thorne, Song, This world is but a vanety, vi. (1848).
| But yf thow fortune to be poore, | |
| So that thow go fro dore to dore, | |
| Humbly geve thankes to God therfore. |
1658. Bromhall, Treat. Specters, II. 182. The Birth-day of the Emperor Augustus fortuned to fall on that very time that Cataline’s Cause of his Conjuration was a pleading in Court.
1728. Pope, The Dunciad, II. 73.
| Here fortun’d Curl to slide; loud shout the band, | |
| And Bernard! Bernard! rings thro’ all the Strand. |
1798. Young, Lett., in Mem. Dalzel (1862), I. 163. The Dean himself fortuning to be absent at the grand Westminster election.
b. To come by chance upon (something). rare–1.
1662. Evelyn, Sculpt., iv. 37–8. Albert Durer, who flourished about the years 1503, and who had performed wonders both in Copper and Wood, had he once fortun’d upon the least notion of that excellent manner, which came afterwards to be in vogue, of giving things their natural distances, and agreeable sweetnesse.
† c. ellipt. To chance to come to (a place).
a. 1520. Joseph of Armathia, 133.
| They fortuned to a countre of a tyraunt kene, | |
| Called wales, there was a kyng that tyme. |
† d. To have a certain fortune, to fare. Obs.
1513. Bradshaw, St. Werburge, II. 1828.
| Whan ye in trauelyng vpon her do call | |
| Or haue any relique sende from the place, | |
| ye fortune and spede well in short tyme and space. |
