FATE, noun [Latin fatum, from for, fari, to speak, whence fatus.] 1. Primarily, a decree or word pronounced by God; or a fixed sentence by which the order of things is prescribed. Hence, inevitable necessity; destiny depending on a superior cause and uncontrollable. According to the Stoics, every event is determined by fate Necessity or chancenot me; and what I will is fate 2. Event predetermined; lot; destiny. It is our fate to meet with disappointments. It is the fate of mortals. Tell me what fates attend the duke of Suffolk? 3. Final event; death; destruction. Yet still he chose the longest way to fate The whizzing arrow sings, And bears thy fate Antinous, on its wings. 4. Cause of death. Dryden calls an arrow a feathered fate Divine fate the order or determination of God; providence.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI