Meanings
- human sciencesSynonym of Wheel of Fortune (“the mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fate, fortune, and luck, to determine people's fortunes which were thus unpredictable”).
As a medievalist Ignatius believed in the rota Fortunae, or wheel of fortune, a central concept in De Consolatione Philosophiae, the philosophical work which had laid foundation for medieval thought. […] Was his wheel rapidly spinning downward?
1963 (date written), John Kennedy Toole, chapter 2, in A Confederacy of Dunces, London: Penguin Books, published 1980 (1981 printing), →ISBN, section I, page 27Synonyms: Wheel of Fortune
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounSynonym of Wheel of Fortune (“the mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fate, fortune, and luck, to determine people's fortunes which were thus unpredictable”).
Origin
- Latinrota Fortūnae
- Englishrota Fortunae
Unadapted borrowing from Latin rota Fortūnae (literally “Fortuna’s wheel”), from rota (“wheel”) + Fortūnae (the genitive dative singular of Fortūna (“the Roman goddess of fate, fortune, and luck”)).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
rota Fortunae. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rota%20Fortunae
“rota Fortunae.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rota%20Fortunae. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rota Fortunae,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rota%20Fortunae.
Source: rota Fortunae on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.