mortal

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔːtəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔɹtəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)təl

Adjective

mortal (comparative more mortal, superlative most mortal)

1. Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal. [from 14th c.]
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 […]

   • 1817 December​, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, OCLC 1000449192, page 263:

     into the plain
     Disgorged at length, the dead and the alive,
     In one dread mass, were parted, and the stain
     Of blood from mortal steel fell o’er the fields like rain.

3. Punishable by death.
4. Fatally vulnerable.
   • 1670, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in The History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. […] , London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for James Allestry, […] , OCLC 946735472:

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

5. Of or relating to the time of death.
   • 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], OCLC 960856019:

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

6. Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly.
   • 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 731548838:

     The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright.

   • 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.

   mortal enemy

7. Human; belonging or pertaining to people who are mortal.

   mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book 10”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     The voice of God
     To mortal ear is dreadful.

   • 2012, Olivia Gates, Immortal, Insatiable, Indomitable, Harlequin (→ISBN)

     “It's just...I hesitated to call the police. I wasn't sure you'd appreciate their presence.” He sure wouldn't. Mortal scum he could dispatch. Mortal law enforcement he avoided at all costs […]

8. Very painful or tedious; wearisome.

   a sermon lasting two mortal hours

   • a. 1832, Walter Scott, To Halbert
9. (UK, 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.

10. (religion) Of a sin: involving the penalty of spiritual death, rather than merely venial.

Synonyms

• (causing death): fatal, lethal, baneful

Antonyms

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

Derived terms

• mortal combat
• mortal sin
• mortalism
• mortality
• mortalize
• mortally
• mortalness
• shuffle off this mortal coil

Translations

susceptible to death

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

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

• Czech: smrtelný (cs)
• Danish: dødelig (da)
• Dutch: sterfelijk (nl)
• 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, so-mharaithe

• 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: mortālis (la)
• Latvian: mirstīgs
• Middle English: dedly
• Occitan: (Provence) mortau (oc)
• Old English: dēadlīċ
• Persian: میرا‎ (fa) (mīrā), مردنی‎ (fa) (mordani)
• 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 (smértnyj)
• Vietnamese: có chết
• Volapük: deadöfik (vo)
• Yiddish: שטערבליך‎ (shterblikh)

causing death; deadly; fatal; killing

• Asturian: mortal
• Bulgarian: смъртоносен (bg) (smǎrtonosen)
• Catalan: mortal (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 致命 (zh) (zhìmìng)

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

  Ancient: θανάσιμος (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, mortifer
• 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) (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.

   Antonym: immortal

   Her wisdom was beyond that of a mere mortal.

   • c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Lord what fools these mortals be!

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

     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 […].

Derived terms

• lesser mortal
• mere mortal

Related terms

• moribund

Translations

human; someone susceptible to death

• Armenian: մահկանացու (hy) (mahkanacʿu)
• Bulgarian: смъртен (bg) m (smǎrten), простосмъртен (bg) m (prostosmǎrten)
• Catalan: mortal (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 凡人 (zh) (fánrén)

• Czech: smrtelník (cs) 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: θνητός m (thnētós), βροτός (brotós)

• Hungarian: halandó (hu)

• Japanese: 人間 (ja) (ningen)
• Kashubian: smiertelnik m
• Latvian: mirstīgais m, mirstīgā f
• Polish: śmiertelnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: mortal (pt) m or f
• Russian: сме́ртный (ru) m (smértnyj), сме́ртная (ru) f (smértnaja)
• Serbo-Croatian: smȑtnīk (sh) m, smȑtnica (sh) f
• Slovene: smrtnik m
• Swahili: mfaji 1 or 2
• Tagalog: palana, taong palana
• Turkish: ölümlü (tr), fani (tr)
• Volapük: (♂♀) deadöfan (vo), (♂) hideadöfan, (♀) jideadöfan

Adverb

mortal (not comparable)

1. (colloquial) Mortally; enough to cause death.

   It's mortal cold out there.

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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)

   Synonym: mortíferu

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin mortālis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /moɾˈtal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /murˈtal/

Adjective

mortal (masculine and feminine plural mortals)

1. mortal

   Antonym: immortal

2. deadly, lethal

Related terms

• mortalitat

Noun

mortal m or f (plural mortals)

1. mortal

Further reading

• “mortal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “mortal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2022
• “mortal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “mortal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Interlingua

Adjective

mortal (not comparable)

1. mortal (liable to die)

   Illo es un mortal wombat, illo decomponera etiam.

2. mortal (causing death)

   Un mortal wombat attaccava ille.

Related terms

• mortalitate
• morte

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Italian

Noun

mortal m or f (apocopated)

1. Apocopic form of mortale

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Piedmontese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /murˈtal/
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

mortal

1. mortal
2. deadly, lethal

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Portuguese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): (Brazil) /moʁˈtaw/, [mohˈtaʊ̯]

• IPA^(key): (Brazil) /moʁˈtaw/, [mohˈtaʊ̯]
  • IPA^(key): (São Paulo) /moɾˈtaw/, [moɾˈtaʊ̯]
  • IPA^(key): (Rio de Janeiro) /moʁˈtaw/, [moχˈtaʊ̯]

• IPA^(key): (Portugal) /muɾˈtal/, [muɾˈtaɫ]

• Hyphenation: mor‧tal
• Homophone: murtal (Portugal)
• Rhymes: -al, -aw

Adjective

mortal m or f (plural mortais, sometimes comparable)

1. (not comparable) susceptible to death; mortal.

   Antonym: imortal

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	—	—	—	—

Derived terms

• mortalmente

Related terms

• mortalidade

Noun

mortal m, f (plural mortais)

1. a mortal, a human (someone susceptible to death)

   Antonym: imortal

2. (gymnastics) a somersault

Further reading

• “mortal” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

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Romanian

Etymology

From Latin mortalis or Italian mortale.

Adjective

mortal m or n (feminine singular mortală, masculine plural mortali, feminine and neuter plural mortale)

1. mortal, deadly

Declension

Declension of mortal

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	mortal		mortală	mortali	mortale
	definite	mortalul		mortala	mortalii	mortalele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	mortal		mortale	mortali	mortale
	definite	mortalului		mortalei	mortalilor	mortalelor

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin mortālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moɾˈtal/, [moɾˈt̪al]
• Hyphenation: mor‧tal

• Audio (Colombia)

  (file)

Adjective

mortal (plural mortales)

1. deadly
2. mortal

   Antonym: inmortal

Derived terms

• mortalmente
• pecado mortal
• salto mortal

 

Related terms

• morir
• mortalidad
• muerte

Further reading

• “mortal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014