Coincided

Coincide is a verb meaning to occur at the same time or place, or to correspond in some respect. When used for time, two events coincide if they happen together or overlap briefly. When used for agreement, one statement or condition coincides with another if they are in accord or match. The past tense coincided describes a situation that occurred in the past, as in "The conference and the festival coincided this year." With the preposition "with," it can indicate alignment of timing or content: "Her birthday coincides with a holiday" can be paraphrased as "Her birthday coincided with a holiday." In geometry and technical contexts, "coincide" can mean that two lines or points occupy the same position.

Coincide derives from Latin coincidere, from com- plus incidere, meaning to fall together. It entered English in the early modern period. The related noun "coincidence" denotes an unexpected or remarkable alignment, or a random occurrence of events that happen to be at the same time or place.

Usage notes: Coincided is commonly used in narrative and analysis to mark alignment of events, dates, or opinions. It does not imply causation; two things can coincide without one causing the other. In statistics or research writing, prefer "coincide with" for timing and "are consistent with" or "correlate with" for relationships. The adjective "coincident" describes things that happen at the same time or in a similar way, while "coincidence" refers to the event itself. Examples include: "The dates of the discoveries coincided," "The clocks coincided for a few seconds," and "Their accounts coincided on the key facts."