Wiktionary

mortal

English edit

Etymology edit

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 edit

Adjective edit

mortal (comparative more mortal, superlative most mortal)

  1. Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal. [from 14th c.]
  2. Causing death; deadly, fatal, killing, lethal (now only of wounds, injuries etc.). [from 14th c.]
  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?‎[1], 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[sic] 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 edit

Antonyms edit

  • (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 edit

Translations edit

Noun edit

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[ward] 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 edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

Adverb edit

mortal (not comparable)

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

Asturian edit

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /moɾˈtal/, [moɾˈt̪al]

Adjective edit

mortal (epicene, plural mortales)

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

Catalan edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Latin mortālis.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

mortal m or f (masculine and feminine plural mortals)

  1. mortal
    Antonym: immortal
  2. deadly, lethal

Related terms edit

Noun edit

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortals)

  1. mortal

Further reading edit

Galician edit

Etymology edit

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

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

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 edit

Related terms edit

Noun edit

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortais)

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

Noun edit

mortal m or f (plural mortais)

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

References edit

  • “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 edit

Adjective edit

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 edit

Italian edit

Noun edit

mortal m or f by sense (apocopated)

  1. Apocopic form of mortale

Piedmontese edit

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

mortal

  1. mortal
  2. deadly, lethal

Portuguese edit

Etymology edit

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

Pronunciation edit

 
 

Adjective edit

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 edit

Related terms edit

Noun edit

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 edit

Further reading edit

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

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

Adjective edit

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

  1. mortal, deadly

Declension edit

Declension of mortal
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite mortal mortală mortali mortale
definite mortalul mortala mortalii mortalele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite mortal mortale mortali mortale
definite mortalului mortalei mortalilor mortalelor

Spanish edit

Etymology edit

From Latin mortālis.

Pronunciation edit

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

Adjective edit

mortal m or f (masculine and feminine plural mortales)

  1. deadly
  2. mortal
    Antonym: inmortal

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

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