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Fate

2 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means the development of events beyond a person's control; destiny

Where does the word "fate" come from? It comes from Latin fata, adopted directly into English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
fata
Latin · classical
"destinies"
plural of fatum 'what has been spoken'; Rome's three Fates, the Parcae, spun, measured and cut the thread of each life
2
Stage 2 of 2
fate
English · 1300s
"destiny"
Shakespeare's Cassius argues the opposite in Julius Caesar (1599): 'The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves'
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Fate’s story begins in Latin: fata meant “destinies.” Plural of fatum 'what has been spoken'; Rome's three Fates, the Parcae, spun, measured and cut the thread of each life. It reached English by 1300s as fate. Shakespeare's Cassius argues the opposite in Julius Caesar (1599): 'The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves'. Today, fate means the development of events beyond a person's control; destiny.