mortal

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English

Etymology

From Middle English mortal, mortel, from Old French mortal, and their source Latin mortālis, from mors (death). Partly displaced native deadly, from Old English dēadlīċ.

Pronunciation

Adjective

mortal (comparative more mortal, superlative most mortal)

  1. Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal.
  2. Causing death; deadly, fatal, killing, lethal (now only of wounds, injuries etc.).
  3. Punishable by death.
  4. Fatally vulnerable.
  5. Of or relating to the time of death.
  6. Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly.
    mortal enemy
    • 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:
      The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright.
    • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
      I was in mortal fear lest the captain should repent of his confessions and make an end of me.
    • 2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 13:20 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 3 November 2022:
      Although the Japanese have engaged with little hesitation, they are as surprised as the Americans to be fighting this battle. Although the escort-carrier groups have been under sporadic air attack for over a week, these attacks appear to have been conducted by aircraft from the Japanese Army, who, of course, have utterly failed to mention any of this to their counterparts-dash-rivals-dash-mortal enemies in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
  7. Human; belonging or pertaining to people who are mortal.
    mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC:
      The voice of God
      To mortal ear is dreadful.
    • 2012, Olivia Gates, Immortal, Insatiable, Indomitable, Harlequin, →ISBN:
      “It's just...I hesitated to call the police. I wasn't sure you'd appreciate their presence.” He sure wouldn't. Mortal scum he could dispatch. Mortal law enforcement he avoided at all costs []
  8. Very painful or tedious; wearisome.
    a sermon lasting two mortal hours
  9. (Scotland, Geordie, slang) Very drunk.
    Synonym: mortalled
    • 1995, Alan Warner, Morvern Callar, Vintage, published 2015, page 13:
      Thats nothing, says Tequila Sheila, who told how the summer she was housemaid in The Saint Columba she took this guy back to the staff flats while mortal on slammers and crashed out on him before anything could happen.
  10. (religion, of a sin) Causing spiritual death.

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of susceptible to death): immortal, everlasting
  • (antonym(s) of of or relating to death): natal, vital
  • (antonym(s) of causing death): vital
  • (antonym(s) of causing spiritual death): venial

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

mortal (plural mortals)

  1. A human; someone susceptible to death.
    Antonym: immortal
    Her wisdom was beyond that of a mere mortal.
    • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      Lord what fools these mortals be!
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., , →OCLC:
      But then I had the flintlock by me for protection.
      There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window [].

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

mortal (not comparable)

  1. (colloquial) Mortally; enough to cause death.
    It's mortal cold out there.

Asturian

Pronunciation

Adjective

mortal (epicene, plural mortales)

  1. mortal (susceptible to death)
  2. mortal (causing death; deadly; fatal; killing)
  3. deadly (lethal)
    Synonym: mortíferu

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mortālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

mortal m or f (masculine and feminine plural mortals)

  1. mortal
    Antonym: immortal
  2. deadly, lethal

Related terms

Noun

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortals)

  1. mortal

Further reading

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese mortal, and their source Latin mortālis, from mors (death).

Pronunciation

Adjective

mortal m or f (plural mortais)

  1. (not comparable) susceptible to death; mortal
    Antonym: inmortal
  2. (comparable) prone to cause death; deadly; lethal; fatal
    Synonym: mortífero

Derived terms

Related terms

Noun

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortais)

  1. a mortal, a human (someone susceptible to death)
    Antonym: inmortal

Noun

mortal m or f (plural mortais)

  1. (gymnastics) a somersault
    Synonyms: pinchacarneiro, reviravolta

References

  • mortal” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
  • mortal” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
  • mortal” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
  • mortal” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
  • mortal” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Interlingua

Adjective

mortal (not comparable)

  1. mortal (liable to die)
    Illo es un mortal wombat, illo decomponera etiam.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  2. mortal (causing death)
    Un mortal wombat attaccava ille.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Related terms

Italian

Noun

mortal m or f by sense (apocopated)

  1. Apocopic form of mortale

Piedmontese

Pronunciation

Adjective

mortal

  1. mortal
  2. deadly, lethal

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese mortal, and their source Latin mortālis, from mors (death). By surface analysis, morte +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

 
 

Adjective

mortal m or f (plural mortais, comparable, comparative mais mortal, superlative o mais mortal or mortalíssimo)

  1. (not comparable) susceptible to death; mortal
    Antonym: imortal
  2. (comparable) prone to cause death; deadly; lethal; fatal

Derived terms

Related terms

Noun

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortais)

  1. a mortal, a human (someone susceptible to death)
    Antonym: imortal
  2. (gymnastics) a somersault

Derived terms

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mortalis or Italian mortale. By surface analysis, mort +‎ -al.

Adjective

mortal m or n (feminine singular mortală, masculine plural mortali, feminine and neuter plural mortale)

  1. mortal, deadly

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin mortālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /moɾˈtal/
  • Audio (Colombia):(file)
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: mor‧tal

Adjective

mortal m or f (masculine and feminine plural mortales)

  1. deadly
  2. mortal
    Antonym: inmortal

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading