fatidic
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of fatidic
1665–75; < Latin fātidicus, equivalent to fāti- (combining form of fātum fate ) + -dicus one who utters, derivative of dīcere to say
Explanation
Something that is fatidic is prophetic or fateful. In mythology or literature, a fatidic encounter or dream foretells or foreshadows things that will happen. The word fatidic comes from the Latin roots fatum, meaning "fate," and dicere, meaning "to speak or tell." Its literal meaning is "speaking fate." If a friend says something to you that turns out to be eerily accurate with regard to what happens down the road, you might look back and call that remark fatidic. The word is tied to mythology. In ancient Roman myths, the three sisters who spun the "thread" of human life were called the Fata (The Fates). A fatidic message in the stories often warned of future events.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
