[mawr-ter] 
| 1. | a receptacle of hard material, having a bowl-shaped cavity in which substances are reduced to powder with a pestle. |
| 2. | any of various mechanical appliances in which substances are pounded or ground. |
| 3. | a cannon very short in proportion to its bore, for throwing shells at high angles. |
| 4. | some similar contrivance, as for throwing pyrotechnic bombs or a lifeline. |
| 5. | to attack with mortar fire or shells. |
[mawr-ter] | 1. | a mixture of lime or cement or a combination of both with sand and water, used as a bonding agent between bricks, stones, etc. |
| 2. | any of various materials or compounds for bonding together bricks, stones, etc.: Bitumen was used as a mortar. |
| 3. | to plaster or fix with mortar. |
| mor·tar (môr'tər) n.
[Middle English morter, from Old English mortere and from Old French mortier, both from Latin mortārium; see mer- in Indo-European roots.] |
mortar mor·tar (môr'tər)
n.
A vessel in which drugs or other substances are crushed or ground with a pestle.
A machine in which materials are ground and blended or crushed.
Mortar
(Heb. homer), cement of lime and sand (Gen. 11:3; Ex. 1:14); also potter's clay (Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14). Also Heb. 'aphar, usually rendered "dust," clay or mud used for cement in building (Lev. 14:42, 45). Mortar for pulverizing (Prov. 27:22) grain or other substances by means of a pestle instead of a mill. Mortars were used in the wilderness for pounding the manna (Num. 11:8). It is commonly used in Palestine at the present day to pound wheat, from which the Arabs make a favourite dish called kibby.
