Etymology

mortar

M3O1R1T1A1R1

Today it means: A mixture of lime or cement, sand and water used for bonding building blocks. Full definition →

First used 20th c.Middle English morter ← Old French mortier ← Latin mortārium
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frommortārium
  2. Old French · derived frommortier
  3. Middle English · inherited frommorter
  4. English todaymortar

From Middle English morter, from Old French mortier, from Latin mortārium. Doublet of mortarium.

Words from the same roots

Latinmortārium all →

mortarium

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. A relatively lightweight, often portable indirect fire weapon which transmits recoil to a base plate and is designed to lob explosive shells at very steep trajectories.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.