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mortarboard

American  
[mawr-ter-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈmɔr tərˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

  1. a board, usually square, used by masons to hold mortar.

  2. Also called cap.  a cap with a close-fitting crown surmounted by a stiff, flat, square piece from which a tassel hangs, worn as part of academic costume.

mortarboard British  
/ ˈmɔːtəˌbɔːd /

noun

  1. a black tasselled academic cap with a flat square top covered with cloth

  2. Also called: hawk.  a small square board with a handle on the underside for carrying mortar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mortarboard

First recorded in 1850–55; mortar 2 + board

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.