mortal

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman mortal, Middle 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; vital.
   • 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.
   • 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.
   • 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

   • 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. (UK, slang) Very drunk; wasted; smashed.

   Let's go out and get mortal!

Derived terms

• mortality
• mortal sin

Synonyms

• (causing death): fatal, lethal, baneful

Antonyms

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

Translations

susceptible to death

• Armenian: մահկանացու (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 m
• Dutch: sterfelijk (nl)
• Finnish: kuolevainen (fi)
• French: mortel (fr)
• Galician: mortal
• German: sterblich (de)
• Greek: θνητός (el) (thnitós), θανάσιμος (el) (thanásimos)

  Ancient Greek βροτός (brotós)

• Hebrew: בשר ודם (basar vadam)
• 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)
• Latvian: mirstīgs
• Nahuatl: miquini
• Occitan: (Provence) mortau
• Polish: śmiertelny (pl)
• Portuguese: mortal (pt)
• Russian: смертный (ru) (smértnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: smrtan (sh), zemnik (sh)
• Slovene: smrten
• Spanish: mortal (es)
• Swedish: dödlig (sv)
• Turkish: ölümlü (tr), fani (tr)
• Ukrainian: сме́ртний m (smértnyj)
• Volapük: deadöfik (vo)

causing death; deadly; fatal; killing

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

  Mandarin: 致命 (zh) (zhìmìng)

• Dutch: dodelijk (nl)
• Galician: mortal
• German: tödlich (de)
• Greek: θανάσιμος (el) m (thanásimos)

• Japanese: 必殺の (ja) (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)
• Latvian: nāvīgs, nāvējošs
• Portuguese: mortal (pt)
• Russian: смертельный (ru) (smertélʹnyj)
• 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)

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, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:

     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

Translations

human; someone susceptible to death

• Armenian: մահկանացու (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 m, Sterbliche (de) f
• Greek: θνητός (el) m (thnitós)
• Hungarian: halandó (hu)

• Latvian: mirstīgais m, mirstīgā f
• Polish: śmiertelnik m
• Portuguese: mortal (pt) m, f
• Russian: смертный (ru) m (smértnyj), смертная (ru) f (smértnaja)
• Serbo-Croatian: smȑtnīk m, smȑtnica f
• Slovene: smrtnik m
• Turkish: ölümlü (tr), fani (tr)
• Volapük: (♂♀) deadöfan (vo), (♂) hideadöfan, (♀) jideadöfan

---

Asturian

Adjective

mortal (epicene, plural mortales)

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

Synonyms

• (deadly): mortíferu

---

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin mortālis.

Adjective

mortal m, f (masculine and feminine plural mortals)

1. mortal
2. deadly, lethal

Antonyms

• (mortal): immortal

Related terms

• mortalitat

Noun

mortal m, f (plural mortals)

1. mortal

---

Italian

Noun

mortal m f

1. apocopic form of mortale

---

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

---

Spanish

Adjective

mortal m, f (plural mortales)

1. deadly
2. mortal

Antonyms

• inmortal

Related terms

• morir
• muerte