unlucky

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

UNLUCK'Y, adjective 1. Unfortunate; not successful; as an unlucky man. 2. Unfortunate; not resulting in success; as an unlucky adventure; an unlucky throw of dice; an unlucky game. [This word is usually applied to incidents in which success depends on single events, to games of hazard, etc. rather than to things which depend on a long series of events, or on the ordinary course of providence. Hence we say, a man is unlucky in play or in a lottery; but not that a farmer is unlucky in his husbandry, or a commander unlucky in the result of a campaign.] 3. Unhappy; miserable; subject to frequent misfortunes. 4. Slightly mischievous; mischievously waggish; as an unlucky boy; an unlucky wag. 5. Ill omened; inauspicious. Haunt me not with that unlucky face.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

More founding-era words: liberty · virtue · republic · justice · providence · commerce · militia · arms · prudence · establishment · religion · usurpation · tyranny · citizen · unalienable · sovereign