Mortuus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. No longer alive; having ceased to live or exist; devoid of life or vitality
2. Deceased or lifeless; having ended biological functions; no longer possessing breath or consciousness
3. Dead; lacking any signs of life or movement; having expired or passed away

Etymology: "Mortuus" is the Latin word for "dead," the past participle of "mori," "to die." It is a relatively straightforward inheritance from the Proto-Indo-European root for death, which also gave English "mortal" and "murder." Its participial form shows the Latin pattern in which a verb's past participle could be used as an adjective describing a state that has already been reached. In English, "mortuus" survives mainly in learned, legal, and scientific contexts, most often in the phrase "mortuus est," meaning "he is dead," and in the older Latin legal expression "mortuus civiliter," used for someone who had lost civil rights. The word was never a common English vocabulary item, so its use is a deliberate borrowing from classical Latin rather than an adaptation through French.

Synonyms: dead, deceased, lifeless

Antonyms: alive, living