Brewer's: Mortal

I saw a mortal lot of people- i.e. a vast number. Mortal is the French à mort, as in the sentence, “Il y aait du monde à mort. ” Legonidec says, “Ce mot [mort] ne s'emploie jamais au propre, mais seulement au figuré, avec la signification de multitude, grand nombre, foule.”

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