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fate

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fate

[feyt] noun, verb, fat⋅ed, fat⋅ing.
–noun
1. something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune; lot: It is always his fate to be left behind.
2. the universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed; the decreed cause of events; time: Fate decreed that they would never meet again.
3. that which is inevitably predetermined; destiny: Death is our ineluctable fate.
4. a prophetic declaration of what must be: The oracle pronounced their fate.
5. death, destruction, or ruin.
6. the Fates, Classical Mythology. the three goddesses of destiny, known to the Greeks as the Moerae and to the Romans as the Parcae.
–verb (used with object)
7. to predetermine, as by the decree of fate; destine (used in the passive): a person who was fated to be the savior of the country.

Origin:
1325–75; ME < L fātum utterance, decree of fate, destiny, orig. neut. of fātus, ptp. of fārī to speak


1. karma, kismet; chance, luck. Fate, destiny, doom refer to the idea of a fortune, usually adverse, that is predetermined and inescapable. The three words are frequently interchangeable. Fate stresses the irrationality and impersonal character of events: It was Napoleon's fate to be exiled. The word is often lightly used, however: It was my fate to meet her that very afternoon. Destiny emphasizes the idea of an unalterable course of events, and is often used of a propitious fortune: It was his destiny to save his nation. Doom esp. applies to the final ending, always unhappy or terrible, brought about by destiny or fate: He met his doom bravely. 7. foreordain, preordain.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fate
fate   (fāt)   
n.  
    1. The supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines events.

    2. The inevitable events predestined by this force.

  1. A final result or consequence; an outcome.

  2. Unfavorable destiny; doom.

  3. Fates Greek & Roman Mythology The three goddesses, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, who control human destiny. Used with the.


[Middle English, from Old French fat, from Latin fātum, prophecy, doom, from neuter past participle of fārī, to speak; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fate 
c.1374, from L. fata, neut. pl. of fatum "thing spoken (by the gods), one's destiny," from neut. pp. of fari "to speak," from PIE *bha- "speak" (see fame). The L. sense evolution is from "sentence of the Gods" (Gk. theosphaton), subsequently "lot, portion" (Gk. moira, personified as a goddess in Homer), later "one of the three goddesses (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who determined the course of a human life."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fate
Pronunciation: 'fAt
Function: noun
: the expected result of normal development fate of embryonic cells>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

fate

In addition to the idioms beginning with fate, also see seal one's fate; tempt fate.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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