from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Destiny \Des"ti*ny\, n.; pl. {Destinies}. [OE. destinee,
destene, F. destin['e]e, 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.
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Thither he
Will come to know his destiny. --Shak.
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No man of woman born,
Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. --Bryant.
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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.
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But who can turn the stream of destiny? --Spenser.
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Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as
inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny.
--Longfellow.
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{The Destinies} (Anc. Myth.), the three Parc[ae], or Fates;
the supposed powers which preside over human life, and
determine its circumstances and duration.
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Marked by the Destinies to be avoided. --Shak.
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