fortune [ME] The Roman goddess Fortuna, who personified luck or chance, gave us the English word fortune and fortuitous [M17th]. The saying fortune favours the brave is found in English from the late 14th century, but the same idea can be traced back to classical times. The Roman poet Virgil included the line ‘audentes fortuna iuvat’ or ‘fortune favours the brave’ in his epic poem the Aeneid. See also hostage.