- mantle
- mantle man"tle, n. [OE. mantel, OF. mantel, F. manteau, fr. L.
mantellum, mantelum, a cloth, napkin, cloak, mantle (cf.
mantele, mantile, towel, napkin); prob. from manus hand + the
root of tela cloth. See {Manual}, {Textile}, and cf.
{Mandil}, {Mantel}, {Mantilla}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A loose garment to be worn over other garments; an
enveloping robe; a cloak. Hence, figuratively, a covering
or concealing envelope.
[1913 Webster]
[The] children are clothed with mantles of satin. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
The green mantle of the standing pool. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Now Nature hangs her mantle green On every blooming tree. --Burns. [1913 Webster]
2. (Her.) Same as {Mantling}. [1913 Webster]
3. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The external fold, or folds, of the soft, exterior membrane of the body of a mollusk. It usually forms a cavity inclosing the gills. See Illusts. of {Buccinum}, and {Byssus}. (b) Any free, outer membrane. (c) The back of a bird together with the folded wings. [1913 Webster]
4. (Arch.) A mantel. See {Mantel}. [1913 Webster]
5. The outer wall and casing of a blast furnace, above the hearth. --Raymond. [1913 Webster]
6. (Hydraulic Engin.) A penstock for a water wheel. [1913 Webster]
7. (Geol.) The highly viscous shell of hot semisolid rock, about 1800 miles thick, lying under the crust of the Earth and above the core. Also, by analogy, a similar shell on any other planet. [PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.