mortise
Americannoun
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a notch, hole, groove, or slot made in a piece of wood or the like to receive a tenon of the same dimensions.
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a deep recess cut into wood for any of several other purposes, as for receiving a mortise lock.
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Printing. a space cut out of a plate, especially for the insertion of type or another plate.
verb (used with object)
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to secure with a mortise and tenon
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to cut or form a mortise in (a piece of wood or the like).
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to join securely.
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Printing.
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to cut metal from (a plate).
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to cut out metal from a plate and insert (new material) in its place.
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noun
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a slot or recess, usually rectangular, cut into a piece of wood, stone, etc, to receive a matching projection (tenon) of another piece, or a mortise lock
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printing a cavity cut into a letterpress printing plate into which type or another plate is inserted
verb
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to cut a slot or recess in (a piece of wood, stone, etc)
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to join (two pieces of wood, stone, etc) by means of a mortise and tenon
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to cut a cavity in (a letterpress printing plate) for the insertion of type, etc
Other Word Forms
- mortiser noun
Etymology
Origin of mortise
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English morteys, mortaise, from Anglo-French mortais(e), Old French mortoise; of obscure origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Traditional names for the woodworks’ joints, such as “gooseneck mortise” and “two-stop tenon,” sound a little like Jazz Age cocktails or dance crazes.
From New York Times
Instead, posts and beams were fitted together with mortise and tenon joints.
From Washington Post
“The protruding tenons are clearing visible and the corresponding horizontal lintel stone would have had mortise holes for them to slot into. A bit like early Lego!”
From Fox News
The uprights and the lintels, both made of local sarsen stone, were locked together by means of a joint more commonly used in woodwork – the mortise and tenon.
From The Guardian
If not, then you may have to set the hinge plate deeper in its mortise.
From Washington Post
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
