noun General Slang

Mort

/mɔːt/ · noun · slang

Cant for a woman — a 'walking mort' tramped the roads; an 'autem mort' was a wedded one.

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Definitions

1

A 'walking mort' — an unmarried vagabond woman who tramped the roads with the crew.

“Harman set down the tale of a walking mort who outwitted a lecherous man.”
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2

A woman, in the general canting sense; the word for any female of the vagabond crew.

“The mort carried the bread and the bene whids while the cove carried the lift.”
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3

An 'autem mort' — a married woman, 'autem' being cant for church and so for the marriage made there.

“She was an autem mort, wed in the autem and no man's doxy.”
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Mort In A Sentence

Every mort in the barn knew the upright man's law too well.
He fell in with a walking mort on the Kentish road.
An autem mort kept more standing than a common doxy.

Origin & Usage

Recorded by Harman (1566) and throughout later canting glossaries (B.E. 1699, Grose 1785). 'Walking mort' and 'autem mort' are his named sub-ranks; the bare origin of 'mort' is uncertain, though much guessed at.

Variants walking mortautem mort
Tags #thieves-cant#cant#historical#british#beggary

People Also Ask

What does mort mean in thieves' cant?

A woman — the general canting word, with 'walking mort' (unwed tramp) and 'autem mort' (married woman) as named sub-types in Harman.

What is an autem mort?

A married woman; 'autem' was cant for church, so an autem mort was one wed in church.

Where does mort come from?

It appears from Harman (1566) onward, but the true root is uncertain and was never reliably settled.

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