Meaning

noun a muzzle-loading high-angle gun with a short barrel that fires shells at high elevations for a short range

noun used as a bond in masonry or for covering a wall

noun a bowl-shaped vessel in which substances can be ground and mixed with a pestle

originFrom Middle English morter, from Old French mortier, from Latin mortārium. Doublet of mortarium.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0