Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lethal” come from?

Lethal derives from Latin letalis, formed with the Latin suffix -alis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -li-.

lethal (English): Deadly; mortal; fatal; Any weapon that causes...

Definitions

  1. Deadly; mortal; fatal; Any weapon that causes...

Ancestry of “lethal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinlētālis—
2Latin-ālis—
3Proto-Italic-ālis—

Words derived from “lethal”

  • lethality
  • nonlethal
  • sublethal
  • lethally
  • sublethally
  • cytolethal
  • semilethal
  • nonlethally
  • superlethal
  • unlethal
  • delethalize
  • delethalization
  • semilethality
  • ultralethal
  • non-lethal
Every word from Proto-Italic -ālis →