Mort"main` (?), n. [F. mort, morte, dead + main hand; F. main-morte.
See Mortal, and Manual.] (Law) Possession of lands or tenements in, or
conveyance to, dead hands, or hands that cannot alienate.
The term was originally applied to conveyance of land made to
ecclesiastical bodies; afterward to conveyance made to any corporate
body. Burrill.
Mort"mal (?), n. See Mormal. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Mort"pay` (?), n. [F. mort dead + E. pay.] Dead pay; the crime of
taking pay for the service of dead soldiers, or for services not
actually rendered by soldiers. [Obs.] Bacon.
{ Mor"tress (?), Mor"trew (?), } n. [See Mortar.] A dish of meats and
other ingredients, cooked together; an ollapodrida. Chaucer. Bacon.
Mor"tu*a*ry (?), n.; pl. Mortuaries (#). [LL. mortuarium. See Mortuary,
a.] 1. A sort of ecclesiastical heriot, a customary gift claimed by,
and due to, the minister of a parish on the death of a parishioner. It
seems to have been originally a voluntary bequest or donation, intended
to make amends for any failure in the payment of tithes of which the
deceased had been guilty.