Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Lethal
Leth′al
(lĕth′ăl)
, Noun.
[
L
auric + eth
er + al
cohol.] (Chem.)
One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid. It is so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid.
Le′thal
(lē′thal)
, Adj.
[L.
lethalis
, letalis
, fr. lethum
, letum
, death: cf. F. léthal
.] Deadly; mortal; fatal.
“The lethal blow.” W. Richardson.
– Le′thal-ly
, adv.
Webster 1828 Edition
Lethal
LE'THAL
,Adj.
Definition 2024
lethal
lethal
English
Adjective
lethal (comparative more lethal, superlative most lethal)
- Deadly; mortal; fatal.
- 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- 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.
-
Related terms
Translations
deadly
|
Etymology 2
Abbreviation of “lauric acid ethereal salt”, so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid.
Noun
lethal (uncountable)
- (chemistry) One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid.
Translations
alcohol