Mortar

(mortar.) [From A.S. mort ere.) (Building.) A preparation of lime and sand mixed up with water, which serves as a cement, and is used by masons and bricklayers in the construction of buildings. Stone lime is preferable to that which is made from chalk, and river sand is better than pit or road sand.-(Gun.) A short piece of ordnance of a large bore, used for projecting shells, bombs, carca es, . The use of M. is supposed to be older than that of cannon, as they were employed in the wars in Italy to throw balls of red-hot iron and stones long before the invention of bombs. They were first used for shells in 1588.-(Pharm.) A ve el made of iron, marble, stone-ware, ., and sometimes for chemical purposes, of agate, flint, porphyry, steel, . It is used for pulverizing, mixing, or di olving, by means of a pestle. [s. 619]