Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: lethalis, from lethum 'death', from letum (influenced by Greek lethe; LETHARGIC)

lethal

 adjective
     
le‧thal
1 causing death, or able to cause death [↪ fatal]:
a lethal dose of heroin
a lethal cocktail of drink and pills
lethal to
These chemicals are lethal to fish.
2 informal likely to be powerful or dangerous - often used humorously:
They were all drinking lethal amounts of tequila!
Higher taxes and higher inflation were a lethal combination.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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