Added 7 October 2026
fate
/feɪt/ noun
In Latin: fātum, sors, fātus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events.
- The effect, consequence, outcome, or inevitable events predetermined by this cause.
- An event or a situation which is inevitable in the fullness of time.
verb
-
To foreordain or predetermine, to make inevitable.
The oracle's prediction fated Oedipus to kill his father; not all his striving could change what would occur.
Origin
From Middle English fate, from Latin fāta (“prediction”), plural of fātum, from fātus (“spoken”), from for (“to speak”). In this sense, displaced native Old English wyrd, whence Modern English weird.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)