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manteau

Etymology and origin of the French word manteau

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 980, Passion de Clermont
Inherited from
Latin mantellum via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (mantellum)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin mantellum
French manteau

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɑ̃.to/[1]

Forms

manteau m (plural manteaux)[1] Old French mantel (about 980), menteaul, manteaul (about 1300); manteau from 1514.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French mantel, inherited from Latin mantellum (“covering, cloak”),[2][3][4][5] a variant of mantēlum (already in Plautus in the sense “veil”), related to mantēlium (“napkin, towel”).[3][4][6] Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF take it as a diminutive of mantum (“cloak”), which Isidore records only in the 7th century and calls Spanish, though it must be older;[4][7] Rey instead sees that word as a back-formation, the source of mante.[3] Littré reports Varro's derivation of the word for a napkin from manus (“hand”), since hands were wiped on it.[6]

Cognate with Italian mantello, Old Occitan mantel and Catalan mantell;[8][6] Spanish manteo and Romanian manta come from French.[8] The Old French word gave English mantle, and the modern one manteau (1670s) and, altered after the city of Mantua, mantua.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) has mantel, a garment hanging from the shoulders to below the knees and worn over all the others.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages it also named a sleeveless cloak worn by great persons, nobles, lawyers, clerics and knights of the orders (about 1180), and the train of a formal dress.[3] It could be a garment worn indoors: manteau de nuit (1514), manteau de lit (1740), later replaced by robe de chambre.[2][3] Figuratively sous le mantel de meant “under the pretext of” (1580), and sous le manteau “secretly” is recorded by Pomey in 1671, garder les manteaux, “to watch while others have fun”, is in the Académie in 1694.[2][3] Rôle à manteau (1752) was a part of grave old man in comedy.[2][10]

By analogy it named the part of an animal's coat on the back and flanks when of a different colour (1221–1250, Plait Renart), a bird's plumage (1636) and the mantle of molluscs (1803).[2][3] The mantel de cheminée, the mantelpiece, is recorded in 1332.[2] Today the word names a long-sleeved overcoat.[3][11] Among its derivatives mantelet is from the 12th century, and démanteler (1563) comes through manteler “to cover with a cloak”, hence “to fortify”.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – Mantel in the Passion.[2]
  • 1221–1250 – An animal's coat, in the Plait Renart.[2]
  • c. 1300 – Menteaul.[2]
  • 1332 – Mantel de cheminée.[2]
  • 1514 – The form manteau, manteau de nuit.[2]
  • 1580 – Sous le mantel de “under pretext of”.[2]
  • 1670s – English manteau.[9]
  • 1671 – Sous le manteau (Pomey).[2]
  • 1803 – The mantle of molluscs.[2]
  • 1830 – A cavalry greatcoat.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A coat, overcoat: manteau de fourrure, de cuir.[11][1]
  2. (historical) A cloak, mantle, especially a ceremonial one: manteau de cour.[3][1]
  3. Sous le manteau: secretly, clandestinely.[3][1]
  4. Manteau de cheminée: a mantelpiece.[1][2]
  5. (zoology) The back and wings of a bird, or the back of a mammal, when of a different colour; the mantle of a mollusc.[2][3][1]
  6. (geology) The Earth's mantle.[1]
  7. (heraldry) A pavilion.[1]

Word family

  • mantelet
  • démanteler
  • démantèlement
  • mante
  • mantille

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 272a
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Manteau.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/manteau. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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