Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: mortaise, perhaps from Arabic murtazz 'fixed in'

mortise

 noun
     
Related topics: Industry
mor‧tise , mortice [countable]
technicalTI a hole cut in a piece of wood or stone so that the shaped end of another piece will fit there firmly [↪ tenon]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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