Infantry support weapon. A type of cannon that really isn't a cannon - it fires in higher arcs (higher than 45 degrees) and is a muzzle-loading one.

Mortars are lighter than cannons to move around - a small mortar can be handled by just a few men, the smallest, toy sized ones, with one man - and are generally faster to make ready for firing.

(I know next to nothing about mortars - I served in a mortar company. Why civilians always know more about weapons than soldiers?)

Mortar is also the name of the program I created that generates NoCeM reports. It was originally written in Perl, but I later made an Emacs LISP version of it (just for convinience).

Mor"tar (?), n. [OE. morter, AS. mort�xc7;re, L. mortarium: cf. F. mortier mortar. Cf. sense 2 (below), also 2d Mortar, Martel, Morter.]

1.

A strong vessel, commonly in form of an inverted bell, in which substances are pounded or rubbed with a pestle.

2. [F. mortier, fr. L. mortarium mortar (for trituarating).] Mil.

A short piece of ordnance, used for throwing bombs, carcasses, shells, etc., at high angles of elevation, as 45°, and even higher; -- so named from its resemblance in shape to the utensil above described.

Mortar bed Mil., a framework of wood and iron, suitably hollowed out to receive the breech and trunnions of a mortar. -- Mortar boatvessel Naut., a boat strongly built and adapted to carrying a mortar or mortars for bombarding; a bomb ketch. -- Mortar piece, a mortar. [Obs.] Shak.

 

© Webster 1913.


Mor"tar, n. [OE. mortier, F. mortier, L. mortarium mortar, a large basin or trough in which mortar is made, a mortar (in sense 1, above). See 1st Mortar.] Arch.

A building material made by mixing lime, cement, or plaster of Paris, with sand, water, and sometimes other materials; -- used in masonry for joining stones, bricks, etc., also for plastering, and in other ways.

Mortar bed, a shallow box or receptacle in which mortar is mixed. -- Mortar board. (a) A small square board with a handle beneath, for holding mortar; a hawk. (b) A cap with a broad, projecting, square top; -- worn by students in some colleges. [Slang]<-- now worn usually only at graduation time -->

 

© Webster 1913.


Mor"tar, v. t.

To plaster or make fast with mortar.

 

© Webster 1913.


Mor"tar (?), n. [F. mortier. See Mortar a vessel.]

A chamber lamp or light.

[Obs.]

Chaucer.

 

© Webster 1913.

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