mortar

What it means

1. uncountableA mixture of lime or cement, sand and water used for bonding building blocks.

   The holy hearth! If any earthly and material thing, or rather a divine idea embodied in brick and mortar, might be supposed to possess the permanence of moral truth, it was this.

   1846, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Fire Worship”, in Mosses from an Old Manse

2. countableA hollow vessel used to pound, crush, rub, grind or mix ingredients with a pestle.

   Synonyms: mortar and pestle, pestle and mortar

3. countablehistoricalgovernmentA short, heavy, large-bore cannon designed for indirect fire at very steep trajectories.

In a sentence

The holy hearth! If any earthly and material thing, or rather a divine idea embodied in brick and mortar, might be supposed to possess the permanence of moral truth, it was this.

1846, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Fire Worship”, in Mosses from an Old Manse

Where it comes from

1. Latinmortārium
2. Old Frenchmortier
3. Middle Englishmorter
4. Englishmortar

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

First known use: 20th c.