viatical

[ vahy-at-i-kuhl, vee‑ ]

adjective

1. of or relating to a viaticum.
2. of or relating to a financial transaction in which a company buys life insurance policies from the terminally ill at less than their face value and may sell the policies to investors:

   viatical settlements.

viatical

/ vaɪˈætɪkəl /

adjective

1. of or denoting a road or a journey
2. botany (of a plant) growing by the side of a road

Word History and Origins

Origin of viatical¹

C19: from Latin viāticus belonging to a journey + -al ¹