fatal

Etymology

From Middle French fatal, from Latin fātālis (“fatal”).

adj

1. Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny.
   She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill. 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court
2. Foreboding death or great disaster.
3. Causing death or destruction.
   a fatal wound; a fatal disease; that fatal day; a fatal mistake
   Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer. 2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist
4. (computing) Causing a sudden end to the running of a program.
   a fatal error; a fatal exception

noun

1. A fatality; an event that leads to death.
   For this same period there have been four fatals and 44 nonfatals in gassy mines. 1969, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education, Hearings, page 90
   The best accident rate in general aviation is in corporate/executive flying at 0.17 per 100000 hours for fatals and .50 for total accidents. 1999 April, Flying Magazine, volume 126, number 4, page 15
2. (computing) A fatal error; a failure that causes a program to terminate.