Happening by accident or without intention; doing something without meaning or realizing it.
From 'inadvertent' (from Latin 'in-' + 'advertent,' from 'advertere' meaning 'to turn toward'). The root suggests 'not turning one's attention' to something, first recorded in English around 1600.
Inadvertently is the excuse for so many historical disasters—Columbus 'inadvertently' encountered the Americas, penicillin was discovered 'inadvertently'—showing that luck and non-attention sometimes change the world more than plans do.
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