Etymograph

English

mortal

Mortal comes from Latin mortālis, from mors ‘death’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘to die’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-1‘to die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mértis1‘death’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mortis1‘death’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmors2‘death’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmortālis2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mortal2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mortal2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1590mortal2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin mors
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English mortal
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto XI: “Blyndfold he was; and in his cruell fist A…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-Wiktionary, Latin mors‘to die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mértisWiktionary, Latin mors‘death’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mortisWiktionary, Latin mors‘death’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmorsWiktionary, English mortal‘death’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmortālisWiktionary, English mortal
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mortalWiktionary, English mortal
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mortalWiktionary, English mortal
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1590mortalWiktionary, English mortal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto XI: “Blyndfold he was; and in his cruell fist A…”

The story

In this sense, displaced native deadly, from Old English dēadlīċ.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘to die’

remember, march, murder, marine, nightmare, mere, maritime, marsh, mare, mara, muller, morbid, moor, ambrosia, marinate, marinara, morn, mortuary, maar, moribund, cormorant, mortier, 60 more

through Proto-Italic *mortis ‘death’

mortician, 9 more

through Latin mors ‘death’

mortification, 9 more

through Latin mortālis

immortality, 2 more

Today it means

adj Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mortal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin mors. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mer- / mortal

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