morbific en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /mɔːˈbɪf.ɪk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /mɔɹˈbɪf.ɪk/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Middle French morbifique, or its source, post-classical morbificus, from Latin morbus (“sickness”).
Meanings
-
That causes disease; sickening, pathogenic.
He accepted that the body was a machine, mathematically understandable, but disease was the effort by nature or the soul to expel morbific matter, and physiology was the science of that struggle.
1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, Folio Society, published 2016, page 240:
- Pertaining to or caused by disease; diseased.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| morbifick | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more morbific | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most morbific | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |