#theoicom

The Moirai, or Fates, are the three goddesses of the Greek pantheon who determine the path of human destiny. With such a role, they are considered both goddesses of birth and of death, arriving when a person is born to assign them their fate, and again when they die to end it. 

The oldest stories called them one collective power of Fate, namely Aisa:

Aisa -  Αἶσα, the abstract concept of “fate,”  related to the verb αἰτέω aitéō, which is “to ask, crave, demand, beg for”

However, in later accounts the three individual deities were separated, each performing a certain function, to form the trio of the Moirai:

Moirai -  Μοῖρα, from the Ancient Greek μοῖρα moîra, “part, portion, destiny,” the verb form is μείρομαι meíromai, which means “to receive as your portion, to accept fate,” possibly from the Proto-Indo-European root smer-meaning alternately, “to remember, care for” and “allotment or assignment”

In Theogeny of Hesiod, they’re called both the children of Zeus and Themis, but also daughters of Nyx, the night:

“Also she [Nyx] bare the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos, who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods: and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty.”

Clotho -  Κλωθώ, from the Ancient Greek verb κλώθω klótho,which is literally “to spin (as in wool or cotton), twist by spinning;” the youngest fate and the spinner of the thread of life

Lachesis -  Λάχεσις, related to the Ancient Greek verb  λαγχάνω lankhánō,which means “I obtain, receive by drawing lots, assigned to a post by lot,” the root for which may be the noun λάχος lákhos,“lot, destiny, fate;” the second fate, measurer of the thread of life

Atropos -  Ἄτροπος, literally meaning “unchangeable,” compounds the prefix  ἀ- a-(”gives it’s host the opposite of the usual definition, similar to English un-, as in wisetounwise”) and the verb τρέπω trépō,which is “I turn,” likely from the Proto-Indo-European root trep-, “to turn or bow one’s head (possibly out of shame);” the eldest fate, bearing the sharp shears which sever the threads of life, also known as “inevitable”

Koios - Κοῖος, possibly from the Ancient Greek ποῖος poios, an interrogative adjective for “of what kind, which;” the titan of intelligence and the north pole

Kreios - Κρεῖος, the Greek word for ram, relating him to the constellation Aries; the titan of the south

Kronos - Κρόνος, said to be the same as χρόνοςkhronos, which was both the Ancient Greek for “time, period, term,” and the name of the personified deity of time in Greek mythology; the titan who destroyed his father Ouranos and came to rule during the so named Golden Age of the cosmos, Cicero explained the story of Kronos consuming his children after their birth to be allegorical to the manner in which time devours the years and matter of ages past

Hyperion - Ὑπερίων, a compound of the Ancient Greek ὑπέρhuper, meaning “above, over, across,” and -ῑ́ων -ion, a masculine patronymic suffix. ὑπέρmay have come from the Proto-Indo-European root upér of the same definition, the interpretation being: “him who goes to or regards from above;” the titan of heavenly light, fathered Eos the dawn, Helios the sun and Selene the moon, associated with the east

Iapetos - Ἰαπετός, from the Ancient Greek for the piercer or wounder, meaning “javelin” in modern Greek; the titan of mortality and mortal life, associated with the west

Mnemosyne - Mνημοσύνη, probably another form of μνήμη mneme, meaning “memory,” from the verb μνάομαι mnaomai, which is “to be mindful of, to remember,” derived from the PIE *men-, “to think;” the titan of memory and remembrance, the mother of the muses

Oceanos - Ὠκεανός, possibly of a non-Indo-European, pre-Greek linguistic origin; the eldest titan, represented the river, ocean, and heavens which were believed to have risen and set into his waters

Phoebe - Φοίβη, the feminine form of the masculine ΦοῖβοςPhoibos, a name meaning “pure, bright, radiant,” possibly from the PIE root *bʰeigʷ-, meaning “ to shine, clear;” the titan of prophetic radiance, often either confused with or connected to Artemis and Selene

Rhea - Ῥέα, of uncertain etymology, possibly connected to ἔρα éra, meaning “earth, ground,” which might connect the name to the PIE root *er, also “earth.” sometimes connected to the Ancient Greek ῥόα rhóa, the word for “pomegranate” or ῥέωrheo, which is “to flow;” the titan of fertility and motherhood, mother of the gods

Tethys - Τηθύς, possibly from the Ancient Greek τήθη thethe, meaning “grandmother;” the titan of fresh water, mother of the oceanids

Theia - Θεία, probably meaning “aunt,” though she is also called Euryphaessa, a compound of the words εὐρύς eurus, “wide,” and φάος phaos, meaning light as both literal “daylight or shine,” and the metaphoric “light of joy, delight, victory, etc;” the titan of shining light, metal or jewels, mother of the sun, moon and dawn

Themis - Θέμις, the Ancient Greek word for “law, order, custom,” possibly connected to the PIE root*dheh, meaning “to do, put or place;” the titan of divine law and order, the mother of the moirai and horae, or the fates and seasons