Simple and strong, the
mortise and tenon joint has been used for centuries by
woodworkers[?] around the world to join two pieces of
wood, most often at an angle close to 90°. Although there are many variations on the theme, the basic idea is that end of one of the members is inserted into a hole cut in the other member. The end of the first member is called the
tenon[?], and it's usually narrowed with respect to the rest of the piece. The hole in the second member is called the
mortise[?].
Glue,
dowels[?],
wedges,
nails, or a combination of these fasten the tenon in the mortise making a more or less permanent joint.