From Turkish 'kismet,' from Arabic 'qisma' (portion, lot), from 'qasama' (to divide) — fate as one's allotted share.
Destiny or fate, especially as determined by a higher power.
From Turkish kısmet (fate, fortune, lot, one's allotted portion), itself borrowed from Arabic qisma (قسمة, a portion, a share, a lot, one's allotted fate), from qasama (قسم, to divide, to allot, to assign by lot). Arabic qasama reflects the Semitic root q-s-m (to divide or allot), attested also in Hebrew qāsam (to divine, to assign by lot) — there is no PIE cognate, as this is a Semitic lexical root. The word entered English via Ottoman Turkish in the early 19th century, carried by travellers, soldiers
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