An accident (Greek συμβεβηκός), in metaphysics and philosophy, is a property that the entity or substance has contingently, without which the substance can still retain its identity. An accident does not affect its essence, according to many philosophers.[1] It does not mean an accident as used in common speech, a chance incident, normally harmful. Examples of accidents are color, taste, movement, and stagnation.[2] Accident is contrasted with essence: a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity.