mantle English · revision 1002

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmæn.təl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mantel]], partly [[inh|ang|mentel|t=cloak]] and partly [[bor|fro|mantel|t=cloak]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) both from [[la|mantellum|t=cloak]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) perhaps from a Celtic source,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) or, if it is the same as ''mantēlum'' “cloth, napkin”, perhaps from ''manus'' “hand”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A loose sleeveless cloak (c. 897).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figuratively a mantle is anything that envelops or conceals (c. 1300).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The allusive use for authority or pre-eminence handed on to a successor (1789) comes from Elijah's mantle, which passed to Elisha.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Scientific senses include the body wall of a mollusc that secretes its shell,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) the incandescent hood of a gas lamp,^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) and the layer of the Earth between crust and core (1940).^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(RHWU) The verb meant “to wrap in a mantle” (c. 1450),^(OED 1989) and, of liquids, “to become covered with a scum or froth” (1626) and, of the face, “to flush” (1707).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 897 – a loose sleeveless cloak.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – something that covers or conceals.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1450 – verb, to wrap in a mantle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1626 – verb, of liquids, to form a coating or froth.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1707 – verb, to blush.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1789 – Elijah's mantle, inherited authority.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1940 – the layer of the Earth below the crust.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A loose, sleeveless outer garment; a [[cloak]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A figurative cloak representing authority or responsibility, as in ''take up the mantle of leadership''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something that covers, envelops or conceals.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(geology)'' The layer of the Earth between the [[crust]] and the [[core]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(zoology)'' The fold of body wall that lines and secretes the shell of a [[mollusk|alt=mollusc]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A mesh hood in a gas lamp that glows brightly when heated.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A variant spelling of [[mantel]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover with or as if with a mantle; to conceal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To spread over a surface, or to become covered with a coating.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[blush]] or be overspread with colour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gas mantle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mantel]]

+ * [[mantilla]]

+ * [[manteau]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}