English
fatal
Fatal comes from Middle French fatal ‘fatal (due to fate)’, from Latin fātus ‘spoken, said, told, foretold, related, predicted’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂-tó-sreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fātosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfātus‘spoken, said, told, foretold, related, predicted’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfātum
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfātālis
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fatal‘fatal (due to fate)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1892fatal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂-tó-sreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fātosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfātus‘spoken, said, told, foretold, related, predicted’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfātum
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfātālis
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fatal‘fatal (due to fate)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1892fatal
Earliest quotation: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’
phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, phase, famous, ban, favourite, favor, photographer, emphasis, phenomenon, profession, bee, fancy, fantasy, abandon, fame, confession, fabulous, confess, phantom, symphony, beacon, infant, beck, boon, eff, bane, prophetic, epiphany, foyer, banish, buoy, fab, bene, fay, fable, nefarious, 126 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂-tó-s
through Latin fātus ‘spoken, said, told, foretold, related, predicted’
through Latin fātum
Today it means
adj Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / fatal