It gives us "such words as 'happenstance,' 'haphazard,' 'hapless,' and 'perhaps'" (Happiness: A History by Darrin M. McMahon).

According to Dr. McMahon, the German, French, Spanish and Greek words for happiness are also related to the words for luck or fortune. This is because, to most of those in times past, happiness wasn't something you could do much about. You just had to live with the hand you were dealt. So people thought happiness was fate—blind luck.

But real happiness is not just luck or blind chance or the actions of the fickle "gods." Real happiness is a result of choice, and it comes more from what we give than what we get (Acts 20:35).