mortal

Forms

mortal m or f (masculine and feminine plural mortales)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mortālis (“subject to death, mortal”).^[2][3][4][1] The DCECH calls the old Old Spanish mortaldad “plague” the popular counterpart of mortalidad, and derives mortandad from it.^[2]

The same Latin word is Portuguese mortal, Catalan mortal, French mortel and Italian mortale.^[5][1] Nascentes regards the Portuguese word as learned.^[6]

The Latin adjective is formed from mors (“death”) with the suffix -ālis.^[7][1] The noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mértis (“death”), from the root *mer- (“to die”), which also gave morior (“to die”).^[1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Auto de los Reyes Magos, which the CDH dates about 1180 and the DCECH about 1200: the kings wonder how to test whether the child is homne mortal, “a mortal man”, an earthly king or a heavenly one.^[9][2][10] The sense “deadly” follows in the Vida de Santa María Egipcíaca (c. 1215), where the speaker prays for her llagas that son mortales, “mortal wounds”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Alfonso X's prose uses it for what must die, what causes death and what concerns death, and as a noun for human beings, los mortales.^[11] Autoridades added the sense of feelings that wish another's death, as in odio mortal and enemistad mortal.^[12] The Academy recorded quedarse mortal “to look like death” in 1817, and in 1843 the sense “excessive, very long”, as in cuatro leguas mortales.^[13][14]

The modern dictionaries add the colloquial sense “very intense”, as in un frío mortal.^[15][16] In Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay mortal can mean “excellent”, and in Cuba it describes a friendly, helpful person.^[17]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – homne mortal in the Auto de los Reyes Magos.^[2][9]
• c. 1215 – llagas mortales in the Vida de Santa María Egipcíaca.^[9]
• 1272–1275 – the General estoria explains that man became mortal after eating the forbidden fruit.^[11]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija distinguishes mortal cosa que muere from mortal cosa que mata.^[18]
• 1546 – first record in the Americas, in Santo Domingo.^[19]
• 1726–1739 – Autoridades records odio mortal and enemistad mortal.^[12]
• 1843 – the Academy adds the sense “excessive”.^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. mortal: subject to death: Todos los seres vivos son mortales.^[4][1]
2. deadly, that causes or can cause death: una herida mortal.^[4][16]
3. Tiring, overwhelming, excessive.^[4]
4. Decisive, finishing.^[4]
5. Of a negative feeling: implacable, as in odio mortal.^[4]
6. Like death or a dead person: Se le puso la cara de un blanco mortal.^[4][1]

Noun

1. A human being, usually in the plural: el común de los mortales.^[4][16]

Word family

• mortalmente

Related words

• morir
• mortalidad
• muerte
• inmortal
• mortandad
• Latin mortālis

Usage notes

Common phrases are pecado mortal “mortal sin”, restos mortales “mortal remains” and salto mortal “somersault”.^[4][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 149
3. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. morir
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. mortal
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. mortālis
6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. mortal
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. mortālis
8. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. mortal
9. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. mortal
10. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. mortal
11. ^ a b Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. mortal
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 611
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 585
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 486
15. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. mortal
16. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. mortal
17. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. mortal
18. ^ Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. mortal
19. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. mortal