mors voluntaria

Latin

Etymology

From mors (“death”) + voluntāria (“voluntary”), literally meaning "voluntary death" or "willing death".

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /mors u̯o.lunˈtaː.ri.a/, [mɔrs̠ u̯ɔɫ̪ʊn̪ˈt̪äːriä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /mors vo.lunˈta.ri.a/, [mɔrs volun̪ˈt̪äːriä]

Noun

mors voluntāria f (genitive mortis voluntāriae); third declension

1. suicide
   • c. 117 CE, Tacitus, Annales 11.2:

     Ipsa ad perniciem Poppaeae festinat subditis qui terrore carceris ad voluntariam mortem propellerent.

     She (Messalina) is accelerating Poppaea's destruction by suborned agents that they might drive her with a great fear of prison to (commit) suicide.

Declension

• Third-declension noun with a first-declension adjective.

	singular	plural
nominative	mors voluntāria	mortēs voluntāriae
genitive	mortis voluntāriae	mortum voluntāriārum
dative	mortī voluntāriae	mortibus voluntāriīs
accusative	mortem voluntāriam	mortēs voluntāriās
ablative	morte voluntāriā	mortibus voluntāriīs
vocative	mors voluntāria	mortēs voluntāriae

Descendants

• → German: Freitod (calque)