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mortal

 - 5 dictionary results

mor⋅tal

  [mawr-tl]
Use mortal in a Sentence
–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 -al 1

Related forms:
mor⋅tal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
6. See fatal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mortal
mor·tal   (môr'tl)   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mor·tal
Pronunciation: 'mort-&l
Function: adjective
1 : having caused or being about to cause death : FATAL mortal injury>
2 : of, relating to, or connected with death <mortal agony>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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.
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