mort
9.9
A horn call used to announce a death or the end of a hunt
- noun
- /mɔrt/
- Archaic
:
mortuorio
- The hunter signaled the end of the day with a long, solemn mort from his horn.
Examples
-
He put his horn to his lips and blew the four long notes of the Mort without a quaver.
Academic text (1993) -
In the old village, a mort was played to remind everyone of those who had passed.
-
As the sun set, the mort echoed through the forest, announcing the loss of the stag.
Synonyms
∞
1.3
An act that causes a person or animal to stop living
is an old term also used for the signal announcing that event
12
9.9
A slow, sad bell sound that announces a death, funeral, or the end of something
is an older word that also means a signal, not only the bell sound
death bell
vsmort
1
8.0
A bell that a church or community rings to tell people someone has died
is an older term covering any signal, not just a bell
death knell
vsmort
8.3
A bell rung to announce someone's death
is an older term that can mean the end event or its signal
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Etymology
Mort was also used for a death signal after a hunt: hunters would blow a horn to show an animal was killed, and that call was named mort from the same root mort- meaning 'death', which is why the sound announces a passing.