Ananke

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈnæŋki/

Definitions

1. A philosophical idea symbolizing the unavoidable forces shaping reality and human fate
2. A mythological principle denoting an essential power that enforces destiny and compels actions within the universe
3. A concept representing the inexorable forces that dictate existence and influence decisions in the world

Etymology: In Greek myth, Ananke was a primordial goddess personifying inevitability, the force that bound the cosmos and fate itself, and her name is simply the ordinary Greek word for "necessity." The noun "anankē" meant compulsion, something that cannot be avoided, long before it was ever a deity. The Greeks used the same word for everyday constraint, such as being forced by circumstance to do something, and for the grander idea that even the gods could not escape what must happen. English took the word directly from Ancient Greek, so it kept the sense of an unavoidable force rather than a mere everyday obligation. The personified goddess is the reason it still sounds like something larger than a chore, and the English term is used to name that same cosmic power.

Synonyms: necessity