Nearby Words
* Free Vital Records & vitalrecords.publicrecordspy.com Vital Info Look-Up on Anyone! * The Vital Records Search is Free.
Dictionary.com Free Toolbar Dictionary.com Define Vital Instantly. Faster Page Loads With Fewer Ads.
Ads
adjective
1.
of or pertaining to life: vital processes.
2.
having remarkable energy, liveliness, or force of personality: a vital leader.
3.
being the seat or source of life: the vital organs.
4.
necessary to life: vital fluids.
5.
EXPANDnecessary to the existence, continuance, or well-being of something; indispensable; essential: vital for a healthy society.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin vītālis, equivalent to vīt(a) life (derivative of vīvere to live; akin to Greek bíesthai, Sanskrit jīvati (he) lives, English quick) + -ālis -al1
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin vītālis, equivalent to vīt(a) life (derivative of vīvere to live; akin to Greek bíesthai, Sanskrit jīvati (he) lives, English quick) + -ālis -al1
Related forms
vi·tal·ly, adverb
vi·tal·ness, noun
non·vi·tal, adjective
non·vi·tal·ly, adverb
non·vi·tal·ness, noun
EXPANDqua·si-vi·tal, adjective
qua·si-vi·tal·ly, adverb
su·per·vi·tal, adjective
su·per·vi·tal·ly, adverb
su·per·vi·tal·ness, noun
un·vi·tal, adjective
un·vi·tal·ly, adverb
un·vi·tal·ness, noun
COLLAPSESynonyms
5. important, critical.
5. important, critical.
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
Vital
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
plural noun
1.
those bodily organs that are essential to life, as the brain, heart, liver, lungs, and stomach.
2.
the essential parts of something: the vitals of a democracy.
Origin:
1600–10; translation of Latin vītālia; see vital
1600–10; translation of Latin vītālia; see vital
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Vital
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
vital
late 14c., "of or manifesting life," from L. vitalis "of or belonging to life," from vita "life," related to vivere "to live," from PIE base *gwei- (cf. O.Pers. *jivaka- "alive;" Gk. bios "life," zoon "animal;" Lith. gyvata "(eternal) life;" O.E. cwic, cwicu "living, alive;" O.Ir. bethu "life;" cf.
EXPAND also bio-). The sense of "necessary or important" is from 1610s, via the notion of "essential to life" (late 15c.).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
vital vi·tal (vīt'l)
adj.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of life.
Necessary to the continuation of life.
Used or done on a living cell or tissue, as in staining.
Destructive to life; fatal, as of an injury.
vitals vi·tals (vīt'lz)
pl.n.
The vital body organs.
The parts that are essential to continued functioning, as of a system.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
Matching Quote
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.