mor|tar

mor|tar¹ «MR tuhr», noun, verb.

–n.

a mixture of sand and water with lime, cement, or often both, for holding bricks or stones together.

–v.t.

to plaster with mortar; fix or hold together with mortar: »

Figurative. There was a real danger that the U.S.-British-French united front that Herter mortared together…might show cracks (Time).

╂[< Old French mortier < Latin mortārium vessel for mixing or pounding; material prepared in it]

mor|tar² «MR tuhr», noun, verb.

–n.

1. a bowl of porcelain, glass, brass, hardwood, or other very hard material in which substances may be pounded to a powder with a pestle.

2. any one of various mechanical devices in which limestone, shale, or other substances may be pounded or ground.

3. a) a very short cannon for shooting shells at high angles over a short range, so as to drop on the target from above. Mortars have a wide, unrifled barrel and a low muzzle velocity. The most common type of mortar in use today is the trench mortar. b) a similar apparatus for shooting fireworks or lifelines.

–v.t.

to fire mortars at; to hit with mortar fire: »

An airborne battalion…got badly mortared (New Yorker).

–v.i.

to fire mortars.

╂[noun (def. 1) Old English mortere < Latin mortārium; see etym. under mortar¹; (def. 2) (Cf. ↑mortar) < Middle French, Old French mortier Latin; (def. 3) < Old French mortier cannon]