fate: [14] Etymologically, fate is ‘that which is spoken’ – that is, by the gods. Like so many other English words, from fable to profess, it goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *bha- ‘speak’. Its immediate source was Italian fato, a descendant of Latin fātum, which was formed from the past participle of the verb fārī ‘speak’.
That which the gods say determines the destiny of human beings, and so Latin fātum came to signify ‘what is preordained, destiny’. It was used in the plural fāta to personify the Fates, the three goddesses who preside over human destiny – their direct etymological descendants in English have been diminished to fairies. The derivative fatal [14] comes from Latin fatālis, perhaps via Old French fatal. => confess, fable, fairy, profess
fate (n.)
late 14c., "one's lot or destiny; predetermined course of life;" also "one's guiding spirit," from Old French fateand directly from Latin fata (source also of Spanish hado, Portuguese fado, Italian fato), neuter plural of fatum "prophetic declaration of what must be, oracle, prediction," thus the Latin word's usual sense, "that which is ordained, destiny, fate," literally "thing spoken (by the gods)," from neuter past participle of fari "to speak," from PIE *bha- (2) "speak" (see fame (n.)).
From early 15c. as "power that rules destinies, agency which predetermines events; supernatural predetermination;" also "destiny personified." Meaning "that which must be" is from 1660s; sense of "final event" is from 1768. The Latin sense evolution is from "sentence of the Gods" (Greek theosphaton) to "lot, portion" (Greek moira, personified as a goddess in Homer). The sense "one of the three goddesses (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who determined the course of a human life" is in English by 1580s. Often in a bad sense in Latin: "bad luck, ill fortune; mishap, ruin; a pest or plague." The native word in English was wyrd (see weird).
fate (v.)
"to preordain as if by fate; to be destined by fate," c. 1600, from fate (n.). Earlier it meant "to destroy" (c. 1400). Related: Fated; fating.
实用例句
1. They held his fate in the palms of their ancient hands.
他们这些老人将他的命运掌握在手心里。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The Casino, where she had often danced, had suffered a similar fate.
她经常跳舞的赌场遭遇了相似的命运。
来自柯林斯例句
3. By a curious twist of fate, cricket was also my favourite sport.
让人感到惊奇的是，板球碰巧也是我最喜欢的运动。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Custer was an idiot and a brute and he deserved his fate.
卡斯特是个白痴，是个残暴的家伙，他罪有应得。
来自柯林斯例句
5. What we think of as fate is just two neuroses knowing that they are a perfect match.