Lethality
/liːˈθæl.ə.ti/noun
The quality of being able to cause death.
Did you know?The core root behind this word is the same one in Greek mythology’s Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, which made death and oblivion feel linguistically linked in the ancient imagination.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
lēthē
“forgetfulness, oblivion”
Ancient Greek
Greek
lēthikos
“causing forgetfulness”
Late Latin
Latin
lethalis
“deadly, fatal”
Middle English
English
lethal
“deadly, fatal”
16th Century
English
lethality
“deadliness; the quality of causing death”
Modern English
English
lethality
“the quality of being able to cause death”