mortal

Forms

mortal m or n (feminine singular mortală, masculine plural mortali, feminine/neuter plural mortale)^[1]

Etymology

It is a 19th-century neologism, borrowed from Latin mortālis (“subject to death; deadly”), also borrowed from Italian mortale.^[2][1][3] MDA2 and the DLR give Latin and compare Italian and French mortel.^[4][5] Wiktionary notes that it can be read as mort with the suffix -al.^[1] The Latin adjective is formed from mors (“death”) with -ālis,^[6] and has Romance descendants such as Spanish mortal and Portuguese mortal.^[7]

The slang sense “terrific” is from Italian too, according to the DCR, which follows Rodica Zafiu.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR quote Ion Heliade-Rădulescu and Gheorghe Asachi first, of a deadly lance.^[4][5] The first dated record is Negulici's dictionary of 1848, which explains it as “subject to death; causing death”.^[9] The DLR quotes lovituri mortale “deadly blows” from a calendar of 1853.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The main sense is “causing death”, of wounds, blows and diseases.^[2][5] The Latin sense “subject to death, human” was used in the 19th century and is now rare, muritor being the usual word.^[5][10] Set phrases are păcat mortal “mortal sin” and salt mortal, an acrobatic somersault, which also came to mean a sudden complete change of opinion.^[4][5] From “deadly” came “like a dead man's”, as in a deathly pallor.^[2][5] Since the 1990s young people's slang has used it for “terrific, wonderful”.^[8][11][2]

Timeline

• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[9]
• 1853 – lovituri mortale “deadly blows” in a calendar.^[5]
• 1993 – the slang sense “terrific” in the press.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Causing death, deadly, lethal: o rană mortală “a fatal wound”;^[11] salt mortal “somersault”.^[2][4]
2. păcat mortal: a mortal sin, one that brings eternal damnation.^[4][5]
3. Like that of a dead person: paloare mortală “deathly pallor”.^[2][5]
4. (slang) terrific, wonderful.^[2][11]
5. (rare) Subject to death, mortal.^[5]

Related words

• moarte
• mort
• muritor
• Latin mortālis

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 675
3. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. mortal
4. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 59
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. mortál
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. mortál
9. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. mortal
10. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 834
11. ^ a b c Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. mortal