Dictionary > Fate

Fate

Fate
1. A fixed decree by which the order of things is prescribed; the immutable law of the universe; inevitable necessity; the force by which all existence is determined and conditioned. Necessity and chance approach not me; and what i will is fate. (Milton) Beyond and above the Olympian gods lay the silent, brooding, everlasting fate of which victim and tyrant were alike the instruments. (Froude)
2. Appointed lot; allotted life; arranged or predetermined event; destiny; especially, the final lot; doom; ruin; death. The great, th’important day, big with the fate Of Cato and of Rome. (Addison) Our wills and fates do so contrary run That our devices still are overthrown. (Shak) The whizzing arrow sings, And bears thy fate, Antinous, on its wings. (Pope)
3. The element of chance in the affairs of life; the unforeseen and unestimated conitions considered as a force shaping events; fortune; especially, opposing circumstances against which it is useless to struggle; as, fate was, or the fates were, against him. A brave man struggling in the storms of fate. (Pope) Sometimes an hour of fates serenest weather strikes through our changeful sky its coming beams. (B. Taylor)
The three goddesses, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, sometimes called the destinies, or Parcaewho were supposed to determine the course of human life. They are represented, one as holding the distaff, a second as spinn
9e8
ing, and the third as cutting Off the thread.
Among all nations it has been common to speak of fate or destiny as a power superior to gods and men swaying all things irresistibly. This may be called the fate of poets and mythologists. Philosophical fate is the sum of the laws of the universe, the product of eternal intelligence and the blind properties of matter. Theological fate represents Deity as above the laws of nature, and ordaining all things according to his will the expression of that will being the law.
Synonym: destiny, lot, doom, fortune, chance.
Origin: L. Fatum a prophetic declaration, oracle, what is ordained by the gods, destiny, fate, fr. Fari to speak: cf. OF. Fat. See Fame, Fable, Ban, and cf. 1st fay, fairy.


You will also like...

Still Water Animals
Still Water Animals

Animals living in aquatic habitats have diversified and evolved through time. They eventually occupy ecological niches a..

Neural Control Mechanisms
Neural Control Mechanisms

Neurons generate electric signals that they pass along to the other neurons or target tissues. In this tutorial, you wil..

Human perception in action
Human Perception – Neurology

This tutorial investigates perception as two people can interpret the same thing differently. Know more about human perc..

Ploidy
Polyploidy

Humans are diploid creatures. This means that for every chromosome in the body, there is another one to match it. Howeve..

Physiological Homeostasis
Physiological Homeostasis

Homeostasis is essential to maintain conditions within the tolerable limits. Otherwise, the body will fail to function p..

"Cronopio dentiacutus", a prehistoric mammal (an illustration)
Mammalian Ancestors

Mammals are a diverse group of organisms, where most of them develop their offspring within the uterus of the mother. Ov..