3 ms·

The common usage has a good connotation. From Websters: Synonyms: benediction, benefit, boon, felicity, godsend, good, manna, blessing Antonyms: affl

• dalke 12y ago
  And has for a long time. The 1818 version of Johnson's "A Dictionary of the English Language" has "an unexpected legacy; any unexpected advantage", with no negative connotations. https://books.google.com/books?id=zsI_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PT1100&dq=windfall&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3NGcVP_UMOGtygPxnIGoCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=windfall&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=zsI_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PT1100&dq=... The original 1755 version only had "Fruit blown down from the tree" - http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?page_id=7070&i=2282 http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?page_id=7070&i=2282 . Etymonline says 'Figurative sense of "unexpected acquisition" is recorded from 1540s' - http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=windfall&allowed_in_frame=0 http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=windfall&allowed_in_fra... . It's also used in the 1800s as the tornado track. See https://books.google.com/books?id=1GQJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA324&dq=windfall&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3NGcVP_UMOGtygPxnIGoCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=windfall&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=1GQJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA324&dq=w... .