lethal

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈliː.θəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin lēthālis,^[2][3][4] an alteration of Latin lētālis (“deadly”), from lētum (“death”),^[2][3] altered to lethum by association with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “forgetfulness”), the river Lethe of the underworld.^[2][4][5] The origin of the Latin word for death is uncertain: perhaps a noun from a verb meaning to let go,^[3][6] or of Etruscan connection.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Causing spiritual death, especially of sin: 1583 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster.^[2][7][6][8]

Semantic evolution

Of or relating to death is from 1607,^[7] and able to cause death, of weapons and poisons, from 1613.^[7] The lethal chamber, for putting animals to death, is from 1884,^[7] and in genetics a lethal gene from 1917.^[7][6] Extremely harmful or devastating is a modern informal use.^[9] Lethality is from 1656.^[2]

Timeline

• 1583 – spiritually deadly.^[2][7]
• 1613 – deadly.^[7]
• 1656 – lethality.^[2]
• 1884 – lethal chamber.^[7]
• 1917 – a lethal gene.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Able to cause death; deadly, fatal.
2. Relating to or suggesting death.
3. Extremely harmful or effective: a lethal combination.

Word family

• lethality
• lethally
• hyperlethal
• unlethal
• nonlethal
• semilethal
• sublethal
• lethal chamber

Related words

• Lethe
• lethargy

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin