RE: Dr.Bill's post..
The Greeks had a word for it:Clotho, Lachesis & Atropos, the Fates.. Clotho is a spinner, Lacheis a weaver, and Atropos the one who cuts the cloth.

My M-W-10th only has one word immediately recognizable coming from atropos-- atropine..(A poisonous, bitter, crystalline alkaloid, C17H23NO3, obtained from belladonna and other related plants. It is used to dilate the pupils of the eyes and as an antispasmodic.

but.. there are others..http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE539.html

any one else have some words of fate that have turned round in meaning?