Fatidical

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /fəˈtɪdɪkəl/

Definitions

1. Concerning the power to predict future events, often carrying a sense of inevitability or fate
2. Relating to an ominous prediction or indication that signifies a consequential outcome, typically with a sense of determinism
3. Pertaining to the capacity to foresee future occurrences, especially those that suggest an unavoidable destiny or fate

Etymology: "Fatidical" packs a whole prophecy into its parts: it comes from Latin "fātidicus," built from "fātum," meaning "fate," and "dīcō," meaning "to say" or "tell." Put together, the Latin describes someone who speaks what fate has decreed, a sayer of destiny. The Latin elements were long familiar in Roman religion and poetry, where "fatum" carried the sense of what the gods had ordained. English took the adjective over with the same meaning, so something fatidical foretells what is to come. The word is a learned borrowing, and its construction is transparent: "fate" plus "say" yields a foreteller's word, with the English adjective ending "-ical" added in the usual way for words borrowed through Latin.

Synonyms: prophetic, foretelling