Mortaise

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A technique involving the creation of a rectangular cavity in a material that accommodates a corresponding projection for secure connection
2. The process of crafting a slot in a structure that allows a fitting piece to be inserted and held in place firmly
3. A rectangular cavity made in a material to fit and hold a corresponding piece securely

Etymology: Mortaise is a borrowing from Old French "mortaise," which in turn comes from Arabic "mazza," meaning a chisel, a tool whose name travelled west through Spanish and Old French into the vocabulary of carpenters. The Arabic origin is the surprising link: a word for a cutting tool came to name the hole the tool makes. The word's sense followed the work rather than the tool. A mortise is the rectangular cavity cut into a piece of timber, and it receives a matching projecting block called a tenon. Joined together, the two pieces lock without nails or glue, held by friction and the snug fit of the wood. Because the verb form describes the act of cutting that cavity, the same term names both the process and the finished slot.