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.

Thither he Will come to know his destiny. --Shak.

No man of woman born, Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. --Bryant.

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.

But who can turn the stream of destiny? --Spenser.

Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny. --Longfellow.

The Destinies (Anc. Myth.), the three Parc[ae], or Fates; the supposed powers which preside over human life, and determine its circumstances and duration.

Marked by the Destinies to be avoided. --Shak.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)