Etymologically
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lethal

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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

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