# 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: /ˈmɔːtəl/
* (US) IPA: /ˈmɔɹtəl/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)təl

### Adjective

mortal (comparative more mortal, superlative most mortal)
* Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal. [from 14th c.]
* Causing death; deadly, fatal, killing, lethal (now only of wounds, injuries etc.). [from 14th c.]
** 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC: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, 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.
* Punishable by death.
* 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:Last of all, against himself he turns his sword, but missing the mortal place, with his poniard finishes the work.
* 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:Safe in the hand of one disposing Power, Or in the natal or the mortal hour.
* Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly.
    mortal enemy
** 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright.
** 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:I was in mortal fear lest the captain should repent of his confessions and make an end of me.
** 2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 13:20 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?‎, archived from the original on 3 November 2022:Although the Japanese have engaged with little hesitation, they are as surprised as the Americans to be fighting this battle. Although the escort-carrier groups have been under sporadic air attack for over a week, these attacks appear to have been conducted by aircraft from the Japanese Army, who, of course, have utterly failed to mention any of this to their counterparts-dash-rivals-dash-mortal enemies in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
* Human; belonging or pertaining to people who are mortal.
    mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power
** 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC: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 […]
* Very painful or tedious; wearisome.
    a sermon lasting two mortal hours
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Walter Scott to this entry?)
* (Scotland, Geordie, slang) Very drunk.
    Synonym: mortalled
** 1995, Alan Warner, Morvern Callar, Vintage, published 2015, page 13:Thats 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.
* (religion, of a sin) Causing spiritual death.

#### Synonyms

* (causing death): fatal, lethal, baneful

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “susceptible to death”): immortal, everlasting
* (antonym(s) of “of or relating to death”): natal, vital
* (antonym(s) of “causing death”): vital
* (antonym(s) of “causing spiritual death”): venial

#### Derived terms

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

#### Translations
### Noun

mortal (plural mortals)
* A human; someone susceptible to death.
    Antonym: immortal
    Her wisdom was beyond that of a mere mortal.
** c. 1595–1596 (date written), 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, (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: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
### Adverb

mortal (not comparable)
* (colloquial) Mortally; enough to cause death.
    It's mortal cold out there.

## Asturian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /moɾˈtal/ [moɾˈt̪al]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: mor‧tal

### Adjective

mortal (epicene, plural mortales)
* mortal (susceptible to death)
* mortal (causing death; deadly; fatal; killing)
* deadly (lethal)
    Synonym: mortíferu

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mortālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [murˈtal]
* IPA: (Balearic) [morˈtal]
* IPA: (Valencia) [moɾˈtal]

### Adjective

mortal m or f (masculine and feminine plural mortals)
* mortal
    Antonym: immortal
* deadly, lethal

#### Related terms

* mortalitat

### Noun

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortals)
* 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, 2025
* “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.

## Galician
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [moɾˈtal]

### Adjective

mortal m or f (plural mortais)
* (not comparable) susceptible to death; mortal
    Antonym: inmortal
* (comparable) prone to cause death; deadly; lethal; fatal
    Synonym: mortífero

#### Derived terms

* inimigo mortal
* mortalmente
* pecado mortal

#### Related terms

* morrer
* mortaldade
* mortalidade
* morte

### Noun

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortais)
* a mortal, a human (someone susceptible to death)
    Antonym: inmortal

### Noun

mortal m or f (plural mortais)
* (gymnastics) a somersault
    Synonyms: pinchacarneiro, reviravolta

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “mortal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “mortal”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “mortal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “mortal”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “mortal”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Interlingua
### Adjective

mortal (not comparable)
* mortal (liable to die)
    Illo es un mortal wombat, illo decomponera etiam.(please add an English translation of this usage example)
* mortal (causing death)
    Un mortal wombat attaccava ille.(please add an English translation of this usage example)

#### Related terms

* mortalitate
* morte

## Italian
### Noun

mortal m or f by sense (apocopated)
* Apocopic form of mortale

## Piedmontese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /murˈtal/
* Rhymes: -al

### Adjective

mortal
* mortal
* deadly, lethal

## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese mortal, and their source Latin mortālis, from mors (“death”). By surface analysis, morte +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /moʁˈtaw/ [mohˈtaʊ̯]
* (Brazil) IPA: /moʁˈtaw/ [mohˈtaʊ̯]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /moɾˈtaw/ [moɾˈtaʊ̯]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /moʁˈtaw/ [moχˈtaʊ̯]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /moɻˈtaw/ [moɻˈtaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /muɾˈtal/ [muɾˈtaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /muɾˈtal/ [muɾˈtaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /muɾˈta.li/
* Homophone: murtal (Portugal)
* Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
* Hyphenation: mor‧tal

### Adjective

mortal m or f (plural mortais, comparable, comparative mais mortal, superlative o mais mortal or mortalíssimo)
* (not comparable) susceptible to death; mortal
    Antonym: imortal
* (comparable) prone to cause death; deadly; lethal; fatal

#### Derived terms

* mortalmente
* pecado mortal
* salto mortal

#### Related terms

* mortalidade

### Noun

mortal m or f by sense (plural mortais)
* a mortal, a human (someone susceptible to death)
    Antonym: imortal
* (gymnastics) a somersault

#### Derived terms

* mortal de costas
* mortal para frente
* mortal para trás
* mortal parafuso
* mortal pirueta
* mortalismo
* restos mortais

### Further reading

* “mortal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mortalis or Italian mortale. By surface analysis, mort +‎ -al.

### Adjective

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

#### Declension
## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin mortālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /moɾˈtal/ [moɾˈt̪al]
* Audio (Colombia):(file)
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: mor‧tal

### Adjective

mortal m or f (masculine and feminine plural mortales)
* deadly
* mortal
    Antonym: inmortal

#### Derived terms

* mortalmente
* pecado mortal
* restos mortales
* salto mortal

#### Related terms

* morir
* mortalidad
* muerte

### Further reading

* “mortal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10