Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Browse Nearby Entries
mortal
7 dictionary results for: Mortal
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mor·tal       [mawr-tl] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.subject to death; having a transitory life: all mortal creatures.
2.of or pertaining to human beings as subject to death; human: this mortal life.
3.belonging to this world.
4.deadly or implacable; relentless: a mortal enemy.
5.severe, dire, grievous, or bitter: in mortal fear.
6.causing or liable to cause death; fatal: a mortal wound.
7.to the death: mortal combat.
8.of or pertaining to death: the mortal hour.
9.involving spiritual death (opposed to venial): mortal sin.
10.long and wearisome.
11.extreme; very great: in a mortal hurry.
12.conceivable; possible: of no mortal value to the owners.
–noun
13.a human being.
14.the condition of being subject to death.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME < L mortālis, equiv. to mort- (s. of mors) death + -ālis -al1]

—Related forms
mor·tal·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 6. See fatal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mor·tal       (môr'tl)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Liable or subject to death.
  2. Of or relating to humankind; human: the mortal limits of understanding.
  3. Of, relating to, or accompanying death: mortal throes.
  4. Causing death; fatal: a mortal wound. See Synonyms at fatal.
  5. Fighting or fought to the death; unrelenting: a mortal enemy; a mortal attack.
  6. Of great intensity or severity; dire: mortal terror.
  7. Conceivable: no mortal reason for us to go.
  8. Used as an intensive: a mortal fool.

n.   A human.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mortālis, from mors, mort-, death; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]

mor'tal·ly adv.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mortal  (adj.)
c.1368, "deadly," also "doomed to die" (c.1374), from O.Fr. mortel "destined to die," from L. mortalis "subject to death," from mors (gen. mortis) "death," from PIE base *mor-/*mr- "die" (cf. Skt. mrtih "death," Avestan miryeite "dies," O.Pers. martiya- "man," Lith. mirtis "mortal man," Gk. ambrotos "immortal," O.C.S. mrutvu "dead," O.Ir. marb, Welsh marw "died," O.E. morþ "murder"). The noun meaning "mortal thing or substance" is first recorded 1526. Mortality "condition of being mortal" is attested from 1340. In the sense of "loss of life on a large scale" it is from c.1400; as "number of deaths in a given period" it is first recorded 1645.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
mortal

adjective
1. subject to death; "mortal beings" [ant: immortal] 
2. involving loss of divine grace or spiritual death; "the seven deadly sins" [syn: deadly] 
3. unrelenting and deadly; "mortal enemy" 
4. causing or capable of causing death; "a fatal accident"; "a deadly enemy"; "mortal combat"; "a mortal illness" [syn: deadly] 

noun
1. a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" [syn: person] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mortal mor·tal (môr'tl)
adj.

  1. Liable or subject to death.
  2. Causing death; fatal.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mortal

Mor"tal\, a. [F. mortel, L. mortalis, from mors, mortis, death, fr. moriri 8die; akin to E. murder. See Murder, and cf. Filemot, Mere a lake, Mortgage.]

1. Subject to death; destined to die; as, man is mortal.

2. Destructive to life; causing or occasioning death; terminating life; exposing to or deserving death; deadly; as, a mortal wound; a mortal sin.

3. Fatally vulnerable; vital.

Last of all, against himself he turns his sword, but missing the mortal place, with his poniard finishes the work. --Milton.

4. Of or pertaining to the time of death.

Safe in the hand of one disposing Power, Or in the natal or the mortal hour. --Pope.

5. Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly.

The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright. --Dryden.

6. Human; belonging to man, who is mortal; as, mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power.

The voice of God To mortal ear is dreadful. --Milton.

7. Very painful or tedious; wearisome; as, a sermon lasting two mortal hours. [Colloq.] --Sir W. Scott.

Mortal foe, Mortal enemy, an inveterate, desperate, or implacable enemy; a foe bent on one's destruction.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mortal

Mor"tal\, n. A being subject to death; a human being; man. "Warn poor mortals left behind." --Tickell.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Share This:Share This: digg.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: del.icio.usShare This: FacebookShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: furl.netShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.google.com