in a general sense, denotes any casual event.

among Logicians, is used in a threefold sense. 1. Whatever does not essentially belong to a thing; as the clothes a man wears, or the money in his pocket. 2. Such properties in any subject as are not essential to it; thus whiteness in paper is an accidental quality. 3. In opposition to substance, all qualities whatever are called accidents; as sweetness, softness, &c.

in Grammar, implies a property attached to a word, without entering into its essential definition; for every word, notwithstanding its signification, will be either primitive, derivative, simple, or compound, which are the accidents of words. A word is said to be primitive, when it is taken from no other word in the language in which it is used: thus heaven, king, good, are primitive words. It is said to be derivative, when it is taken from some other word: thus heavenly, kingdom, goodness, &c. are derivatives. A simple word is easily distinguished from a compound: thus just, justice, are simple words; unjust, injustice, are compound: res is a simple word, as well as publica; but republica is a compound. Besides these accidents which are common to all sorts of words, each particular species has its accidents: thus the accidents of the noun substantive are the gender, declension, and number; and the adjective has another accident, namely, the comparison. See the articles Grammar and Language.

in Heraldry, an additional point or mark in a coat of arms, which may be either omitted or retained without altering the essence of the armour; such as abatement, difference, and tincture.