mortar

Where does the word "mortar" come from? It comes from Latin mortarium, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

Mortar’s story begins in Latin: mortarium meant “mixing bowl.” A bowl for pounding, and the lime mixture made in it. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as mortier. Both the bowl and the building paste. It reached English by 1200s as mortar. The short cannon 'mortar' was named after its squat bowl shape. Today, mortar means a paste binding bricks; a bowl for grinding.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient mortarium "mixing bowl", a bowl for pounding, and the lime mixture made in it.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval mortier "mortar", both the bowl and the building paste.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s mortar "bowl; building paste", the short cannon 'mortar' was named after its squat bowl shape.