Definition of "mortise" [mor•tise]

• A usually rectangular cavity in a piece of wood, stone, or other material, prepared to receive a tenon and thus form a joint. (noun)
• Printing A hole cut in a plate for insertion of type. (noun)
• To join or fasten securely, as with a mortise and tenon. (verb-transitive)
• To make a mortise in. (verb-transitive)
• Printing To cut a hole in (a plate) for the insertion of type. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The mortise is the rectangular hole cut to receive the tenon and is made slightly deeper than the tenon is long."
• "The tenon here is narrow and engages the mortise, which is situated in the compressional fibres immediately adjoining the neutral layer."
• "In the construction of mission furniture where mortise joints are mostly used, those who cannot have access to a mortising machine will find the following method of great assistance in obtaining a true mortise, which is necessary in work of this kind."