mantle

noun man·tle \ ˈman-tᵊl \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Examples: mantle in a Sentence

Editor's Note: mantle vs. mantel

Definition of mantle

1 a : a loose sleeveless garment worn over other clothes : cloak

b : a figurative cloak symbolizing preeminence or authority

accepted the mantle of leadership

2 a : something that covers, enfolds, or envelops (see envelop 1)

The ground was covered with a mantle of leaves.

b (1) : a fold or lobe or pair of lobes of the body wall of a mollusk or brachiopod that in shell-bearing forms lines the shell and bears shell-secreting glands

(2) : the soft external body wall that lines the test or shell of a tunicate or barnacle (see barnacle 2)

c : the outer wall and casing of a blast furnace above the hearth (see hearth 1c); broadly : an insulated support or casing in which something is heated

3 : the upper back of a bird

4 : a lacy hood or sheath of some refractory (see ¹refractory 3) material that gives light by incandescence when placed over a flame

5 a : regolith

b : the part of the interior of a terrestrial (see terrestrial 3) planet and especially the earth that lies beneath the crust and above the central core

6 : mantel

See mantle defined for English-language learners

See mantle defined for kids

Examples of mantle in a Sentence

She accepted the mantle of leadership.
a long black velvet mantle

Recent Examples of mantle from the Web

By Wielding Light Sabers) Hawaiian Bobtail Squid These cuties light up via bioluminescent bacteria living in a light organ in their mantle, or main body.

— National Geographic, "Living Fireworks, These Animals Produce Light Shows with Their Bodies," 30 June 2018
The Post’s Chris Mooney reports the mantle of the Earth under several major glaciers seems to be rebounding, rising upward at a rate of 41 millimeters (or 1 ½ inches) a year.

— dino grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Trump's plan to overhaul government would give Interior and EPA more power," 22 June 2018
As Live Science’s Brandon Specktor reports, the hatchling’s mantle, or casing that contains most of its internal organs, is tiny, measuring just a half inch across.

— meilan solly, Smithsonian, "First Video of Baby Dumbo Octopus Shows They’re Fully Formed From Birth," 20 Feb. 2018
Amidst that scene, many cities in Silicon Valley have tried to claim the mantle of the region’s epicenter.

— ingrid burrington, The Atlantic, "Who Gets to Live in Silicon Valley?," 25 June 2018
But by the end of the 1970s, the likes of BMW, Saab and Porsche took up the mantle, proved its worth in motorsport, and now every car has a turbocharger.

— blake z. rong, Popular Mechanics, "The Evolution of the Combustion Engine," 5 June 2018
Gill's mantle as Canada's most successful judoka could already be under threat.

— henry young, CNN, "Christa Deguchi: The judoka who could come back to haunt Japan," 24 May 2018
But beneath the glitz, beyond the firsts, Jordan isn’t all that different from Balukoff and Peter Dill, a 63-year-old Emmett organic farmer and attorney who is also seeking the governor’s mantle.

— maria l. la ganga, idahostatesman, "Paulette Jordan claims Democratic victory: 'We won this race by everyone.' | Idaho Statesman," 15 May 2018
A week ago, the team and its fans were celebrating Paxton’s no-hitter, a dominant and triumphant display from the man set to inherit Hernandez’s mantle as team ace and perhaps become the franchise’s post-Canó face.

— jon tayler, SI.com, "Robinson Canó's Suspension Just the Latest Cruel Twist for the Playoff-Starved Mariners," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mantle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

mantle vs. mantel

Keeping mantel and mantle straight is relatively simple.

Mantel in modern English largely does one job: it refers to the shelf above a fireplace. You can remember it by thinking of the "el" in both mantel and shelf.

Mantle on the other hand, does many jobs, including a number that are technical or scientific. Its most common uses are to refer to a literal cloak, mostly of the kind worn in days of yore ("she drew her mantle tighter"), and to a figurative cloak symbolizing authority or importance ("taking on the mantle of the museum's directorship"). It also refers to a general covering in literary uses like "wet earth covered in a mantle of leaves" or "a past shrouded in a mantle of secrecy." And it's also the term for the middle layer of the Earth between the crust and the inner core.

There is, however, a catch to these distinctions: mantle is sometimes used (especially in American English) to refer to the shelf above a fireplace as well—that is, as a synonym of mantel.

This isn't terribly surprising, given the histories of the words. They both derive from the Latin word mantellum, which refers both to a cloak and to a beam or stone supporting the masonry above a fireplace. The words came into use in English a couple centuries apart, but were for a time in the past nothing more than spelling variants.

While it's certainly simpler to use mantle in all cases, mantel is significantly more common as the choice for the shelf, which means it's the safer choice in those cases.

Origin and Etymology of mantle

Middle English mantel, from Anglo-French, from Latin mantellum

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

mantle Synonyms

Synonyms

blanket, cloak, cope, cover, cover-up, covering, curtain, hood, mask, pall, robe, shroud, veil, wraps;

Related Words

blind, concealer, screen, shield;

fig leaf, Trojan horse;

camouflage, disguise, facade (also façade), face, mask, veneer;

gloss, varnish;

mantle

verb

Definition of mantle

mantled; mantling play \ˈmant-liŋ, ˈman-tᵊl-iŋ\

transitive verb

: to cover with or as if with a mantle : cloak

the encroaching jungle growth that mantled the building
—Sanka Knox

intransitive verb

1 : to become covered with a coating

2 : to spread over a surface

3 : blush

her rich face mantling with emotion
—Benjamin Disraeli

See mantle defined for English-language learners

Examples of mantle in a Sentence

early-morning fog mantled the fields along the river

Origin and Etymology of mantle

see ¹mantle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

mantle Synonyms

Mantle

biographical name Man·tle \ ˈman-tᵊl \

Definition of Mantle

Mickey (Charles) 1931–1995 American baseball player

MANTLE Defined for English Language Learners

mantle

noun

Definition of mantle for English Language Learners

: a loose piece of clothing without sleeves that was worn over other clothes especially in the past
: something that covers or surrounds something else
: the position of someone who has responsibility or authority