mortise

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a rectangular cavity cut in one piece of material to receive a matching tenon and form a joint

   The carpenter cut a mortise in the post and fitted the rail's tenon into it.

2. 2
   verb

   to join pieces with a mortise and tenon, or to cut a mortise in something

   The frame was carefully mortised and pegged without metal fasteners.

Common collocations

• mortise joint Noun + noun

From Middle English morteys and Old French mortaise. The French word is often traced to Arabic murtazz, 'fastened,' from a verb meaning to fix firmly. Mortice is the established British spelling variant.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images