mȯ(r)ˈtaləd.ē, -ətē, -i noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English mortalitee, from Middle French mortalité, from Latin mortalitat-, mortalitas, from mortalis mortal + -tat-, -tas -ty
1. : the quality or state of being mortal
salvation is the rescue of men from the mortality which sin has brought upon them — K.S.Latourette
2. : the death of large numbers : a heavy loss of life (as by war or disease)
the Black Death of 1348 caused a terrible mortality throughout Europe
those rabbits, frogs, hedgehogs and caterpillars which suffer such mortality on our country roads — Punch
3. archaic : death
here on my knee I beg mortality — Shakespeare
4. : the human race : mankind
take these tears, mortality ' s relief — Alexander Pope
5.
a. : the whole sum or number of deaths in a given time or a given community
many died and the mortality among the children mounted daily — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : the proportion of deaths to population or to a specific number of the population : death rate
for years has had the lowest general mortality and infant death rates — V.G.Heiser
— opposed to fertility
c. : the number lost or the rate of loss or failure in a field of human endeavor (as business or education)
the mortality among college students
the mortality rate of small businesses