Dictionary

Wheel of Fortune en · PROPN

Pronunciation

• /ˌwiːl‿əv ˈfɔːt͡ʃuːn/
• /ˌʍil-/ (General-American) wine–whine merger
• /ˌʍiːl-/ wine–whine merger
• (Southern-England) audio
• /-t͡ʃən/ (General-American)
• /ˌwil‿əv ˈfoɹt͡ʃun/ (General-American)

Etymology

From wheel + of + Fortune (“the Roman goddess Fortuna”), a calque of 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”)).

Meanings

1. The mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fate, fortune, and luck, to determine people's fortunes which were thus unpredictable.
   • I was young enough not to part with hope too easily;—the vague idea I had that my turn would come,—that the ever-circling wheel of Fortune would perchance lift me up some day as it now crushed me down, kept me just wearily capable of continuing existence,—though it was merely a continuance and no more. 1895, Marie Corelli, chapter I, in The Sorrows of Satan: or The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire […], London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 4:
   • I hold the Fates bound faſt in yron chaines, / And with my hand turne Fortunes wheel about, / And ſooner ſhall the Sun fall from his Spheare, / Than Tamburlaine be ſlaine or ouercome. [c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii, signature [A8], verso:
   • The vvheel of fortune turns inceſſantly round, and vvho can ſay vvithin himſelf I ſhall to day be uppermoſt. 1760, Oliver Goldsmith, “Letter VII. From Lien Chi Altangi, to Fum Hoam, First President of the Ceremonial Academy at Pekin, in China.”, in The Citizen of the World; or Letters from a Chinese Philosopher, […], volume I, London: […] [F]or the author; and sold by J. Newbery and W. Bristow, […]; J. Leake and W. Frederick, […]; B. Collins, […]; and A. M. Smart and Co. […], published 1762, →OCLC, page 22:
   • 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 27:
2. (broadly) Synonym of Big Six wheel (“a game of chance consisting of a vertically mounted wheel divided into equal marked sectors; the winning sector is the one indicated by a pointer when the wheel stops turning”).
3. (broadly) A tarot card with an image of Fortuna's wheel (sense 1), generally the tenth of 22 trumps of the major arcana in most tarot decks.

Forms

Deriveds

wheel of fortune

Synonyms

Wheel of Providence · rota Fortunae · Big Six wheel · wheel

Translations (50)

ka ბედის ბორბალი (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · it la ruota della fortuna (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · nl rad van fortuin (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · uk Ко́лесо До́лі (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · fr la roue de fortune (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · cy Olwyn Ffawd (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · kk тағдыр дөңгелегі (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · sh kȍlo sreće (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · es Rota Fortunae (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · ru колесо́ форту́ны (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · tr çarkıfelek (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · eo Rado de Fortuno (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · sv lyckans hjul (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · ja 運命の輪 (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · sk koleso šťastia (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · ca Roda de la Fortuna (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · fr Rota Fortunae (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · pl koło fortuny (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · fi kohtalonpyörä (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · lt laimės ratas (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · tl gulong ng kapalaran (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · es Rueda de la Fortuna (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · ka ბედის ბორბალი (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · de Rad des Schicksals (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · ar عجلة الحظ (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · fi onnenpyörä (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · de Glücksrad (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · uk Ко́лесо Форту́ни (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · tl gulong ng kapalaran (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · ro roata norocului (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · cs kolo štěstí (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · tl gulong ng palad (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · it ruota della fortuna (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · fi kohtalonpyörä (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · pt roda da Fortuna (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · es la rueda de la fortuna (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · ro roata norocului (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · pt a Roda da Fortuna (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · la rota fortunae (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · sv lyckohjul (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · cmn 命運之輪 /命运之轮 (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · cy Olwyn Ffawd (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · fr roue de la Fortune (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · ga roth an tsaoil (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · ga Roth Seama (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · ko 운명의 수레바퀴 (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · hu szerencsekerék (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · sv Lyckohjulet (mythological wheel turned randomly by Fortuna) · ca la roda de la fortuna (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel) · tr çarkıfelek (tarot card with an image of Fortuna’s wheel)