word usage - What Exactly is the Meaning of "Fatal"?


My understanding is that in its normal usage, it means "deadly."


But the root word of "fatal" appears to be "fate," rather than anything that has to do with "death." In this regard, "fatal" resembles "fateful."


Could "fatal" be a variant of "fateful," perhaps with the "deadly" connotations alluded to above?



Answer



Fatal does indeed derive from the same root as fate according to the online etymological dictionary. The original meaning "belonging to or appointed by fate" is still valid if rare according to Chambers, but seems to have mostly taken on the darker, doom-laden shades of fate.


Fateful is a different adjective deriving from fate. It means "charged with fate" (i.e. full of fate/doom, the usual result of tacking on the suffix -ful) rather than "possessing the qualities of fate" (the usual result of tacking on -al).


To complete the set of adjectives, let's not forget fated. It's a perfectly good doom-laden word, after all.


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