Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MOR'RIS-DAN-CER, n.

One who dances a morris-dance. Temple.

MOR'RIS-PIKE, n.

A Moorish pike.

MOR'ROW, n. [Sax. morgen. But it seems rather to be the Welsh mory, morrow.]

1. The day next after the present. Till this stormy night is gone, / And th' eternal morrow dawn. Crashaw. This word is often preceded by on or to. The Lord did that thing on the morrow. Exod. ix. To morrow shall this sign be. Exod. viii. So we say, to night, to day. To morrow is equivalent to on the morrow.
2. The next day subsequent to any day specified. But if the sacrifice of his offering shall be a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice; and on the morrow, also the remainder of it shall be eaten. Lev. vii. Good morrow, a term of salutation; good morning.

MORSE, n. [mors; Russ. morj.]

In zoology, the sea-horse or walrus, an animal of the genus Trichechus, which sometimes grows to the length of 18 feet. This animal has a round head, small mouth and eyes, thick lips, a short neck, and a body thick in the middle and tapering toward the tail. His skin is wrinkled, with short hairs thinly dispersed. His legs are short and loosely articulated, and he has five toes on each foot connected by webs. Teeth of this animal have been found which weighed thirty pounds. These animals are gregarious, but shy, and very fierce when attacked. They inhabit the shores of Spitzbergen, Hudson's Bay and other places in high northern latitudes. Encyc.

MOR'SEL, n. [from L. morsus, a bite, from mordeo.]

1. A bite; a mouthful; a small piece of food. Every morsel to a satisfied hunger is only a new labor to a tired digestion. South.
2. A piece; a meal; something to be eaten. On these herbs and fruits and flowers / Feed first on each beast next and fish and fowl, / No homely morsels. Milton.
3. A small quantity of something not eatable. [Improper.] Boyle.

MOR'SURE, n.

The act of biting.

MORT, n. [Fr. See Mortal.]

1. A tune sounded at the death of game. Shak.
2. A salmon in his third year. Todd.

MOR'TAL, a. [L. mortalis, from mors, death, or morior, to die, that is, to fall; W. marw; Fr. mourir; Arm. niervel; It. morire; Sp. morir. See Class Mr, No. 12, 14.]

1. Subject to death; destined to die. Man is mortal.
2. Deadly; destructive to life; causing death, or that must cause death; as, a mortal wound; mortal poison. The fruit / Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste / Brought death into the world, and all our woe. Milton.
3. Bringing death; terminating life. Safe in the hand of one disposing power, Or in the natal or the mortal hour. Pope.
4. Deadly in malice or purpose; as, a mortal foe. In colloquial language, a mortal foe is an inveterate foe.
5. Exposing to certain death; incurring the penalty of death; condemned to be punished with death; not venial; as, a mortal sin.
6. Human; belonging to man who is mortal; as, mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power, The voice of God / To mortal ear is dreadful. Milton.
7. Extreme; violent. [Not elegant.] The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright. Dryden.

MOR'TAL, n.

Man; a being subject to death; a human being. Warn poor mortals left behind. Tickel. It is often used in ludicrous and colloquial language. I can behold no mortal now. Prior.

MOR-TAL'I-TY, n. [L. mortalitas.]

1. Subjection to death, or the necessity of dying. When I saw her die, / I then did think on your mortality. Carew.
2. Death. Gladly would I meet / Mortality, my sentence. Milton.
3. Frequency of death; actual death of great numbers of men or beasts; as, a time of great mortality. Graunt.
4. Human nature. Take these tears, mortality's relief. Pope.
5. Power of destruction. Mortality and mercy in Vienna, Live in thy tongue and heart. Shak.

MOR'TAL-IZE, v.t.

To make mortal. Broome.

MOR'TAL-IZ-ED, pp.

Made mortal.

MOR'TAL-IZ-ING, ppr.

Making mortal.

MOR'TAL-LY, adv.

1. Irrecoverably; in a manner that must cause death; as, mortally wounded. Dryden.
2. Extremely. Adrian mortally envied poets, painters and artificers, in works wherein he had a vein to excel. Bacon.

MOR'TAR, n.¹ [L. mortarium; Fr. mortier; Sp. mortero; It. mortaio; Dan. morter; D. mortier; G. mörser; Russ. morter; Arm. mortez; Ir. moirteal; allied perhaps to Fr. marteau; Sp. martillo, a hammer, and named from beating. See Class Mr, No. 10, 16, 25.]

1. A vessel of wood or metal in form of an inverted bell, in which substances are pounded or bruised with a pestle.
2. A short piece of ordnance, thick and wide, used for throwing bombs, carcasses, shells, &c. so named from its resemblance in shape to the utensil above described.

MOR'TAR, n.² [D. mortel; Fr. mortier; G. mörtel; Sp. mortero; It. moirteal. In other languages, as in English, the orthography of this word and of the last is the same, and perhaps this name is taken from beating and mixing.]

A mixture of lime and sand with water, used as a cement for uniting stones and bricks in walls. If the lime is slaked and the materials mixed with lime-water, the cement will be much stronger. Encyc.

MORT-D'ANCESTOR, n. [Mort d'ancestor; Fr. death of the ancestor.]

In law, a writ of assize, by which a demandant recovers possession of an estate from which he has been ousted, on the death of his ancestor. Blackstone.

MOR'TER, n. [Fr. mortier.]

A lamp or light. [Obs.] Chaucer.

MORT'GAGE, n. [mor'gage; Fr. mort, dead, and gage; pledge.]

1. Literally, a dead pledge; the grant of an estate in fee as security for the payment of money, and on the condition that if the money shall be paid according to the contract, the grant shall be void, and the mortgagee shall reconvey the estate to the mortgager. Formerly the condition was, that if the mortgager should repay the money at the day specified, he might then re-enter on the estate granted in pledge; but the modern practice is for the mortgagee, on receiving payment, to reconvey the land to the mortgager. Before the time specified for payment, that is, between the time of contract and the time limited for payment, the estate is conditional, and the mortgagee is called tenant in mortgage; but on failure of payment at the time limited, the estate becomes absolute in the mortgagee. But in this case, courts of equity interpose, and if the estate is of more value than the debt, they will on application grant a reasonable time for the mortgager to redeem the estate. This is called the equity of redemption. Blackstone.
2. The state of being pledged as, lands given in mortgage.
3. A pledge of goods or chattels by a debtor to a creditor, as security for the debt. Kent. [This use is of modern origin.]

MORT-GAGE, v.t. [mor'gage.]

1. To grant an estate in fee as security for money lent or contracted to be paid at a certain time on condition that if the debt shall be discharged according to the contract, the grant shall be void, otherwise to remain in full force. It is customary to give a mortgage for securing the repayment of money lent, or the payment of the purchase money of an estate, or for any other debt.
2. To pledge; to make liable to the payment of any debt or expenditure. Already a portion of the entire capital of the nation is mortgaged for the support of drunkards. L. Beecher.

MORT-GAG-ED, pp. [mor'gaged.]

Conveyed in fee as security for the payment of money.

MORT-GA-GEE, n. [morgagee'.]

The person to whom an estate is mortgaged.

MORT-GAG-ER, n. [mor'gager. from mortgage. Mortgagor is an orthography that should have no countenance.]

The person who grants an estate as security for debt, as above specified.

MOR-TIF'ER-OUS, a. [L. mortifer; mors, death, and fero, to bring.]

Bringing or producing death; deadly; fatal; destructive. Hammond.

MOR-TI-FI-CA'TION, n. [Fr. See Mortify.]

1. In medicine and surgery, the death of one part of an animal body, while the rest as alive; or the loss of vitality in some part of a living animal; gangrene; sphacelus. Mortification is the local death of a part of a living animal body, which if not arrested, soon extinguishes life in the whole body. We usually apply mortification to the local extinction of life in a part of a living body. The dissolution of the whole body after death, is called putrefaction.
2. In Scripture, the act of subduing the passions and appetites by penance, abstinence or painful severities inflicted on the body. The mortification of the body by fasting has been the practice of almost all nations, and the mortification of the appetites and passions by self-denial is always a Christian duty.
3. Humiliation or slight vexation; the state of being humbled or depressed by disappointment, vexation, crosses, or any thing that wounds or abases pride. It is one of the vexatious mortifications of a studious man to have his thoughts disordered by a tedious visit. L'Estrange. We had the mortification to lose sight of Munich, Augsburg, and Ratisbon. Addison.
4. Destruction of active qualities; applied to metals. [See Mortify, but I believe not used.] Bacon.