mortar

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a muzzle-loading high-angle gun with a short barrel that fires shells at high elevations for a short range
noun used as a bond in masonry or for covering a wall
noun a bowl-shaped vessel in which substances can be ground and mixed with a pestle

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

'Twas like scratching at mortar between bricks. — The Frozen Pirate, William Clark Russell
“Now, take care not to upset the mortars! — Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
Mortars were planted on Mount Mokatam, which commands Cairo. — Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte — Complete, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne

howitzer, trench mortar

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