Etymologically
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destiny

Etymology and origin of the English word destiny

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1325
Borrowed from
Old French destinee
Ultimate origin
Latin (destino)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɛs.tɪ.ni/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English destinee, borrowed from Old French destinee (“purpose, intent, fate”),[2][3][4] the feminine past participle of destiner, from Latin destinata, from dēstināre (“to make firm, establish”) (see destination).[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

What is destined to happen to a particular person or country: about 1325 in the OED;[6] fate, overruling necessity, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense is that which has been firmly established, as by fate.[2] The power believed to determine events is from about 1340,[6] and in Greek and Roman mythology Destiny was personified as the three Fates.[2] What is to befall a person in the future is from the mid-15th century.[2] A weakened sense, what happens in the course of events, is from 1555.[6] In Yorkshire and Kent dialect, destiny meant a destination.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1325 – a person's fate.[6]
  • c. 1340 – the power of fate.[6]
  • mid-15th century – what will befall someone.[2]
  • 1555 – the course of events.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The events that will necessarily happen to a person or thing in the future; fate.
  2. The hidden power believed to control the future.

Word family

  • manifest destiny

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Destiny.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/destiny. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·