The Spanish verb 'mortificar' comes from the Latin word 'mortificare', which meant 'to cause death' or 'to mortify'. This Latin word was formed by combining two elements: 'mors' meaning 'death', and the suffix '-ficare' meaning 'to make or to do'. So literally, the word was built to mean 'to make dead'. Over time, the meaning has softened somewhat in Spanish to mean 'to mortify' or 'to cause damage', though it still carries strong negative connotations related to its etymology of death.

Several common Spanish words share the 'mort-' root from Latin 'mors' (death). Some simpler related words include: 'muerte' (death), 'morir' (to die), 'muerto' (dead), and 'mortal' (mortal). The '-ficar' suffix appears in many other Spanish verbs like 'significar' (to mean/signify) and 'clarificar' (to clarify), always carrying the sense of 'making' something.

English speakers can recognize this word's roots in several familiar words. The 'mort-' element appears in words like 'mortal', 'mortality', and 'mortuary', all relating to death. The '-ify' ending in English (from the same Latin '-ficare') appears in words like 'mortify', which is directly related to 'mortificar'. Other English words with this ending include 'signify' and 'clarify'. In fact, the English 'mortify' originally meant 'to cause death' just like its Latin source, but now more commonly means 'to embarrass' or 'to humiliate'.