Mortal

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmɔː.təl/

Definitions

1. Having a limited lifespan and destined to die ; judged to deserve death as a punishment or penalty ; capable of causing death or fatal harm
2. Living beings or entities that do not live forever and will eventually expire ; legally or morally sentenced to death ; something that can bring about death or lethal injury
3. Being liable to die at any time, not immortal ; found guilty of a crime deserving the penalty of death ; able to kill or end life

Etymology: Latin "mortālis" was built from "mors," meaning "death," plus the suffix "-ālis," which marks something as belonging to or pertaining to a thing. A mortal was simply something bound to death. The Latin word passed into Old French as "mortal" and "mortel," and English borrowed it in the Middle Ages, when it had the plain sense "destined to die," the opposite of immortal. The word's most surprising move is that it pushed out a native English word. Old English already had "dēadlīċ," from "dēad" (dead), which meant "deadly" or "subject to death." Mortal took over that sense, so the English term for things that die came to be borrowed from Latin rather than inherited from Old English. Mortal also carried a more dramatic sense: a mortal wound or sin was one that caused death or spiritual ruin. The root "mors" likewise gave English "mortuary" and "mortician," which keep the same link to death.

Synonyms: human, living being, creature, individual, person

Antonyms: immortal, eternal, divine, godlike, everlasting