Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The frame of wood and iron on which the piece of ordnance called a mortar rests.
- noun In geology, a relatively hard bed of silt, sand, or gravel, cemented together by carbonate of lime and standing out in relief after the erosion of the soft beds with which it is associated in the region of the Great Plains. The name was given by Robert Hay, and is current in the discussions regarding water-supply in these regions.
Etymologies
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Examples
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The two bomb vessels could not be brought into action, as one was leaky and the mortar-bed of the other had given way.
The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876 J. F. Loubat
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In mortar-vessels other expedients are resorted to, such as trunnion-sights, or a white line painted on the mortar-bed parallel to the axis of the bore when level; but the first plan is preferable.
Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition. United States. Navy Dept. Bureau of Ordnance
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“It was rather important, Major,” said Hewitt to me, “that I should have an opportunity of examining this pattern for I had never seen a mortar-bed in my life, but this of course I did not admit to the ordnance officer.”
Abraham Lincoln Putnam, George H 1909
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I noticed, in looking out from the piazza, a mortar, properly mounted on a mortar-bed and encompassed by some yards of a great chain, placed on the slope overlooking the little valley below, as if to protect the house.
Abraham Lincoln Putnam, George H 1909
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Sunday morning he looked up the ordnance officer of New York for the purpose of ascertaining where the pattern mortar-bed was kept.
Abraham Lincoln Putnam, George H 1909
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The recoil from a mortar is very heavy, necessitating the construction of a foundation called a mortar-bed which is not only solid but which possesses a certain amount of elasticity through which the shock of the recoil is absorbed.
Abraham Lincoln Putnam, George H 1909
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She scooped up some water from a hallow puddle with a battered tin can, and began the formation of an oozy little pocket in the middle of the mortar-bed.
With the Procession Henry Blake Fuller 1893
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"I want it to stay, too," declared Jane, as her eye roamed towards the half-dried mortar-bed just beyond the foundation trench.
With the Procession Henry Blake Fuller 1893
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"It was rather important, Major," said Hewitt to me, "that I should have an opportunity of examining this pattern for I had never seen a mortar-bed in my life, but this of course I did not admit to the ordnance officer."
Abraham Lincoln George Haven Putnam 1887
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I noticed, in looking out from the piazza, a mortar, properly mounted on a mortar-bed and encompassed by some yards of a great chain, placed on the slope overlooking the little valley below, as if to protect the house.
Abraham Lincoln George Haven Putnam 1887
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