Where does “mortal” come from?

mortal (Middle English) comes from Old French mortal, from Latin mortālis, from Latin mors, from Proto-Italic mortis, from Proto-Indo-European mértis, from Proto-Indo-European mer- — to die; to disappear; sea, lake, wetland.

Ancestry of “mortal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmortal—
2Latinmortālismortal (subject to death)
3Latinmorsdeath; corpse; annihilation
4Proto-Italicmortisdeath
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmértisdeath
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmer-to die; to disappear; sea, lake, wetland

Words derived from “mortal”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mer- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mértis →Every word from Proto-Italic mortis →