mantles

Noun

mantle (plural mantles)

1. A piece of clothing somewhat like an open robe or cloak, especially that worn by Orthodox bishops.
   • The people of the village all said, "It could be none but the good-natured Dwarfs, who come by night tripping along with their feet covered with long mantles, as light as birds, and industriously perform for mankind their daily work."1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 95
2. (figuratively) A figurative garment representing authority or status, capable of affording protection.
   • At the meeting, she finally assumed the mantle of leadership of the party.
3. (figuratively) Anything that covers or conceals something else; a cloak.
   • But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward hill.c. 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, act 1, scene 1; republished as Hamlet, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1992, →ISBN, page 6
4. The body wall of a mollusc, from which the shell is secreted.
   • He grasps the female from slightly below about the mid-mantle region and positions himself so his arms are close to the opening of her mantle.1990, Daniel L. Gilbert, William J. Adelman, John M. Arnold (editors), Squid as Experimental Animals, page 71
5. The back of a bird together with the folded wings.
6. The zone of hot gases around a flame.

See all 20 meanings of mantle