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mortarless

mortarless

6.6
Made without mortar, with stones or bricks placed tightly together
  • adjective
  • /ˈmɔrtərləs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sin mortero
  • Our 200-year-old house sits on a dry-laid (mortarless) stone foundation.

Examples

  • The rocks, which were chosen for their palomino-ocher color, are dry-stacked in a mortarless 20-inch-thick wall that's gently angled.

  • Tightly fitted mortarless bricks mark the spaces where Norma hopes to have windows installed.

  • "Nibbling" quite vividly describes the process of, and techniques for, creating well-joined, mortarless masonry, which has been identified and re-created by Jean-Pierre Protzen.

    Academic text (2007)

Synonyms

unmortared
vsmortarless
8.7

Made of stones or bricks joined without mortar

is used specifically for built or assembled construction without binding paste
uncemented
vsmortarless
  • Specialized
6.2

Not fixed with hard glue so parts can join naturally

is applied to construction assembly without using that binding agent
cementless
vsmortarless
  • Specialized
6.5

Not made or fixed with cement, for example a knee implant that lets bone grow into it

is focused on building assembly rather than medical implant fixation

Surface Forms

mortarless positive

Morphology

mortarless = mortar (transparent) = mortar + less

Standard adjectival formation: 'mortar' (binding material) + '-less' = without mortar; meaning follows regular negative derivation.

Etymology

Mortarless comes from mortar, the paste used 'to hold' stones or bricks together, plus -less meaning 'without'. So a mortarless wall or patio is built 'without' that binding paste.