Lethal
/ˈliː.θəl/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any weapon that causes death.
- 2 One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid. uncountable
- 3 An allele that causes the death of the organism that carries it.
Adjective
- 1 Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal.
"Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless."
Adjective
- 1 of an instrument of certain death wordnet
Example
More examples"Improper grounding can make a microphone lethal to touch. Several singers have actually died this way."
Etymology
Etymology 1
Learned borrowing from Latin lētālis (“deadly, mortal, fatal”), improperly written lēthālis, from lētum (“death”), improperly written as lēthum, from a supposed connection with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “oblivion, forgetfulness”).
Etymology 2
Abbreviation of “lauric acid ethereal salt”, so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid.