Etymograph

English

destiny

Destiny comes from Old French destinee ‘fate’, from Latin dēstinō ‘to establish, determine, resolve, consider,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stnéh₂ti ~ stn̥h₂énti‘to place, to stand’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stanōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsame formreconstructed
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēstinō‘to establish, determine, resolve, consider, predict, destine’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400destinee‘fate’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500destine
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1914destiny

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stnéh₂ti ~ stn̥h₂énti‘to place, to stand’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stanōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsame formreconstructed
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēstinō‘to establish, determine, resolve, consider, predict, destine’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400destinee‘fate’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500destine
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1914destiny

Earliest quotation: 1914, Li Ung Bing, The Second Joint Regency of the Empress: “Her death (April 18, 1881) left the Empress Ts‘ŭ…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’

state, system, post, stay, stand, rest, distance, assistant, assistance, stadium, stood, consistent, stable, constitution, instance, assist, establishment, stability, contest, establish, substance, stem, distant, instant, resist, consist, persistent, static, insist, testimony, stud, prostitution, persist, stationary, stool, prostitute, extant, stale, substitution, distal, 157 more

through Latin *stanō

obstinate, 3 more

Today it means

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.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- / destiny

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