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Dictionary / destiny

destiny

/ˈdɛs.tɪ.ni/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)/ˈdes.tɪ.ni/ (Australia)
  • noun
  • from Old French

That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.

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1 All current definitions

Every sense of “destiny” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.

noun

  1. That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.

    Death is the destiny of all mortal men.

  2. One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).

    Everywhere the atom bombs are dropping / It's the end of all humanity / No more time for last-minute shopping / It's time to face your final destiny1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “Christmas at Ground Zero”, in Polka Party!:

  3. The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.

    Dara doesn't believe in using dating apps - she insists that destiny will find her other half.

Wiktionary: “destiny” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross-check: WordNet senses (3)
  1. nounan event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future — also: fate
  2. nounthe ultimate agency regarded as predetermining the course of events (often personified as a woman) — also: fate
  3. nounyour overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you) — also: fortune, fate, luck, lot, circumstances
Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License

2 History of the word

The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)destiny
  2. Middle Englishdestine
  3. Old Frenchdestinee
  4. Latindēstinō (English destine)

From Middle English destine et al., from Old French destinee, from Latin dēstinō (English destine). Displaced Old English wyrd.

Wiktionary: “destiny” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Derivatives — words built from “destiny”

destinistdestinylesspredestiny

Phrases & compounds

date with destinymanifest destiny

Related terms

destinatedestinationdestinedoom
Wiktionary: “destiny” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Want to go deeper? See also “destiny” on Etymonline ↗

3 Original language

Where “destiny” came from before it was English.

Came into English from
Old French
Old French destinee
Oldest written form
Latin
Latin dēstinō (English destine)
Wiktionary: “destiny” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

4 Original meaning

What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.

Wiktionary’s etymology does not give a separate meaning for the earliest form of “destiny”, so we don’t state one. The historical dictionary entry below shows how the word was understood in 1913.

Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913

A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.

destiny n. [OE. destinee, destene, F. destin, from destiner. See Destine.]

  1. That to which any person or thing is destined; predetermined state; condition foreordained by the Divine or by human will; fate; lot; doom.
  2. The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; fate; a resistless power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), public domain, via GCIDE

5 Use it with confidence

Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.

nounMeaning: That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.

Death is the destiny of all mortal men.

Her death (April 18, 1881) left the Empress Ts‘ŭ Hsi, the playmate of her youth, the sole Regent of China, with the destiny of four hundred millions of human beings in her hands.1914, Li Ung Bing, “The Second Joint Regency of the Empress”, in Joseph Whiteside, editor, Outlines of Chinese History, Shanghai: The Commercial Press, →OCLC, page 565:

nounMeaning: One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).

Everywhere the atom bombs are dropping / It's the end of all humanity / No more time for last-minute shopping / It's time to face your final destiny1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “Christmas at Ground Zero”, in Polka Party!:

nounMeaning: The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.

Dara doesn't believe in using dating apps - she insists that destiny will find her other half.

There were two kinds of beardom opposed here, two futures, two destinies.1995, Philip Pullman, Northern Lights:

nounMeaning: the ultimate agency regarded as predetermining the course of events (often personified as a woman)

we are helpless in the face of destiny

Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License
Wiktionary: “destiny” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Three steps to owning it

  1. Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
  2. Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
  3. Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?

6 The mastery game

Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.

Step 1 of 8

Say it, then spell it

destiny

/ˈdɛs.tɪ.ni/

Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.

Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________

destiny

/ˈdɛs.tɪ.ni/ · noun

Step 1 — Say it and write it

Say “destiny” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.

Step 2 — Know every meaning

Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.

1. (noun) That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.
2. (noun) One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).
3. (noun) The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.

Step 3 — Which meaning is it?

“Death is the destiny of all mortal men.”

A. That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.
B. The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.
C. One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).

Circle the meaning used.

“Dara doesn't believe in using dating apps - she insists that destiny will find her other half.”

A. The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.
B. That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.
C. One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).

Circle the meaning used.

Step 4 — History and origin

Which language did “destiny” come into English from?   A. Old French  B. New Latin  C. Middle Dutch  D. Middle French

Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):

Write three words built from “destiny” and what each means:

Step 5 — Original meaning

Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?

How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?

Step 6 — Use it yourself

Write a sentence using “destiny” to mean: That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.
Write a sentence using “destiny” to mean: One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).
Write a sentence using “destiny” to mean: The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.

☐ I can explain its meanings   ☐ I know its history   ☐ I know its original language   ☐ I know its original meaning   ☐ I can use it confidently

Answer key — destiny

Which meaning, sentence 1: A. That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined or inevitable eventual state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.

Which meaning, sentence 2: A. The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.

Origin: A. Old French (Old French destinee)

Journey: English destiny ← Middle English destine ← Old French destinee ← Latin dēstinō

Some derivatives: destinist, destinyless, predestiny

Etymology: From Middle English destine et al., from Old French destinee, from Latin dēstinō (English destine). Displaced Old English wyrd.

Sources: Wiktionary “destiny” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/destiny#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/destiny