fatality
UK[fəˈtæləti]US[feɪˈtæləti]
n
An occurrence of death by accident, in war, or from disease.
n
The quality or state of causing death or destruction; deadliness.
Morpheme Breakdown
fat
al
ity
fat
fate
al
adjective suffix
ity
noun suffix
Etymology
The word 'fatality' traces its lineage to the Latin fatum, meaning "that which has been spoken" by the gods, signifying an ordained destiny or fate. The adjective-forming suffix '-al' was added to create fatalis, meaning "of or belonging to fate, decreed by destiny." The final abstraction into a noun state was achieved with the suffix '-ity', yielding fatalitas in Late Latin, which denoted the condition of being decreed by fate. In English, this evolved from the general sense of "predetermined inevitability" to specifically emphasize the aspect of fate that is deadly, crystallizing around the meaning of "an occurrence of death" or the lethal quality of an event.
Analysis
Structure: fat (fate) + al (adjective suffix) + ity (noun suffix)
- fat: From Latin fatum (that which has been spoken, destiny, fate). Functions as the core root.
- al: A Latin-derived suffix forming adjectives meaning "of, relating to, or characterized by".
- ity: A Latin-derived suffix forming nouns denoting a state or condition.
Examples
The car crash resulted in one fatality.
The fatality rate of the disease has decreased significantly.
Despite improvements in safety, workplace fatalities still occur.