mortal

English

Etymology

From Middle English mortal, mortel, from Old French mortal, Old French mortal, and their source Latin mortālis, from mors (“death”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔːtəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)təl

Adjective

mortal (comparative more mortal, superlative most mortal)

1. Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal. [from 14th c.]
   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:

     I was in mortal fear lest the captain should repent of his confessions and make an end of me.

2. Causing death; deadly, fatal, killing, lethal (now only of wounds, injuries etc.). [from 14th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.11:

     Blyndfold he was; and in his cruell fist / A mortall bow and arrowes keene did hold […].

3. Fatally vulnerable.
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

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

4. Of or relating to the time of death.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope

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

5. Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Dryden

     The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright.

   • mortal enemy
6. Human; belonging to man, who is mortal.

   mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     The voice of God / To mortal ear is dreadful.

7. Very painful or tedious; wearisome.

   a sermon lasting two mortal hours

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Walter Scott to this entry?)

8. (Britain, slang) Very drunk; wasted; smashed.
   • 1995, Alan Warner, Morvern Callar, Vintage 2015, p. 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.

Synonyms

• (causing death): fatal, lethal, baneful

Antonyms

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

Derived terms

• mortality
• mortally
• mortal sin

Translations

susceptible to death

• Armenian: մահկանացու (hy) (mahkanacʿu)
• Asturian: mortal
• Bashkir: бәндә (bändä)
• Belarusian: смяро́тны m (smjarótny)
• Catalan: mortal (ca)
• Cherokee: ᏴᏫ (yvwi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不免一死 (bùmiǎnyīsǐ), 必死的 (zh) (bìsǐ de)

• Czech: smrtelný (cs) m
• Danish: dødelig (da)
• Dutch: sterfelijk (nl)
• Faroese: deyðiligur
• Finnish: kuolevainen (fi)
• French: mortel (fr)
• Galician: mortal
• German: sterblich (de)
• Greek: θνητός (el) (thnitós), θανάσιμος (el) (thanásimos)

  Ancient: βροτός (brotós), θνητός (thnētós)

• Hebrew: בֶּן תְּמוּתָה‎‎ m (ben tmutá)
• Hungarian: halálos (hu)
• Icelandic: dauðlegur (is)

• Irish: básmhar
• Italian: mortale (it)
• Japanese: 死すべき (しすべき, shisubeki), 必滅の (ja) (ひつめつの, hitsumetsu no)
• Latin: mortalis (la)
• Latvian: mirstīgs
• Nahuatl: miquini
• Occitan: (Provence) mortau
• Old English: dēadlīċ
• Polish: śmiertelny (pl)
• Portuguese: mortal (pt)
• Romanian: muritor (ro), mortal (ro), pieritor (ro)
• Russian: сме́ртный (ru) (smértnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: smrtan (sh), zemnik (sh)
• Slovene: smrten
• Spanish: mortal (es)
• Swedish: dödlig (sv)
• Tagalog: palana
• Turkish: ölümlü (tr), fani (tr)
• Ukrainian: сме́ртний m (smértnyj)
• Vietnamese: có chết
• Volapük: deadöfik (vo)

causing death; deadly; fatal; killing

• Asturian: mortal
• Catalan: mortal (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 致命 (zh) (zhìmìng)

• Dutch: dodelijk (nl)
• Finnish: tappava (fi)
• French: mortel (fr)
• Galician: mortal
• German: tödlich (de)
• Greek: θανάσιμος (el) m (thanásimos)

• Italian: mortale (it)
• Japanese: 必殺の (ひっさつの, hissatsu no), 致死の (ja) (ちしの, chishi no), 命取りの (いのちとりの, inochitori no)
• Latin: letalis
• Latvian: nāvīgs, nāvējošs
• Old English: dēadlīċ
• Portuguese: mortal (pt)
• Russian: смерте́льный (ru) (smertélʹnyj)
• Spanish: mortal (es)
• Swedish: dödlig (sv)
• Volapük: deidik, deidölik

affecting as if with power to kill

• Greek: θανάσιμος (el) m (thanásimos)
• Japanese: 不倶戴天の (ja) (ふぐたいてんの, fugutaiten no)

• Latin: letalis

Noun

mortal (plural mortals)

1. A human; someone susceptible to death.

   Her wisdom was beyond that of a mere mortal.

   • 1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

     Lord what fools these mortals be!

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], OCLC 752825175, page 035:

     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 […].

Antonyms

• immortal

Derived terms

• lesser mortal
• mere mortal

Translations

human; someone susceptible to death

• Armenian: մահկանացու (hy) (mahkanacʿu)
• Catalan: mortal (ca) m, f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 凡人 (zh) (fánrén)

• Czech: smrtelník m
• Dutch: sterveling (nl) m
• French: mortel (fr) m, mortelle (fr) f
• Galician: mortal m
• German: Sterblicher (de) m, Sterbliche (de) f
• Greek: θνητός (el) m (thnitós)

  Ancient Greek: θνητός m (thnētós)

• Hungarian: halandó (hu)

• Japanese: 人間 (ja) (ningen)
• Kashubian: smiertelnik m
• Latvian: mirstīgais m, mirstīgā f
• Polish: śmiertelnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: mortal (pt) m, f
• Russian: сме́ртный (ru) m (smértnyj), сме́ртная (ru) f (smértnaja)
• Serbo-Croatian: smȑtnīk (sh) m, smȑtnica (sh) f
• Slovene: smrtnik m
• Tagalog: palana, taong palana
• Turkish: ölümlü (tr), fani (tr)
• Volapük: (♂♀) deadöfan (vo), (♂) hideadöfan, (♀) jideadöfan

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Asturian

Adjective

mortal (epicene, plural mortales)

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

Synonyms

• (deadly): mortíferu

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin mortālis.

Adjective

mortal (masculine and feminine plural mortals)

1. mortal
2. deadly, lethal

Antonyms

• (mortal): immortal

Related terms

• mortalitat

Noun

mortal m, f (plural mortals)

1. mortal

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Italian

Noun

mortal m, f

1. Apocopic form of mortale

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Portuguese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /muɾˈtaɫ/

Adjective

mortal m, f (plural mortais, sometimes comparable)

1. (not comparable) Susceptible to death; mortal.
2. (comparable) Prone to cause death; deadly; lethal; fatal.

Inflection

Inflection of mortal

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
positive	mortal	mortal	mortais	mortais
comparative	mais mortal	mais mortal	mais mortais	mais mortais
superlative	o mais mortal mortalíssimo	a mais mortal mortalíssima	os mais mortais mortalíssimos	as mais mortais mortalíssimas
augmentative	—	—	—	—
diminutive	—	—	—	—

Antonyms

• imortal

Noun

mortal m, f (plural mortais)

1. A mortal person.

Antonyms

• imortal

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Spanish

Adjective

mortal (plural mortales)

1. deadly
2. mortal

Antonyms

• inmortal

Related terms

• morir
• muerte