mantle

/man"tl/, n., v., mantled, mantling.

n.

1. a loose, sleeveless cloak or cape.

2. something that covers, envelops, or conceals: the mantle of darkness.

3. Geol. the portion of the earth, about 1800 mi. (2900 km) thick, between the crust and the core. Cf. core¹ (def. 10), crust (def. 6).

4. Zool. a single or paired outgrowth of the body wall that lines the inner surface of the valves of the shell in mollusks and brachiopods.

5. a chemically prepared, incombustible network hood for a gas jet, kerosene wick, etc., that, when the jet or wick is lighted, becomes incandescent and gives off a brilliant light.

6. Ornith. the back, scapular, and inner wing plumage, esp. when of the same color and distinct from other plumage.

7. mantel.

8. Metall. a continuous beam set on a ring of columns and supporting the upper brickwork of a blast furnace in such a way that the brickwork of the hearth and bosh may be readily replaced.

v.t.

9. to cover with or as if with a mantle; envelop; conceal.

v.i.

10. to spread or cover a surface, as a blush over the face.

11. to flush; blush.

12. (of a hawk) to spread out one wing and then the other over the corresponding outstretched leg.

13. to be or become covered with a coating, as a liquid; foam: The champagne mantled in the glass.

[bef. 900; ME mantel, OE maentel < L mantellum]

Syn. 2. veil, cover, blanket, screen, cloak.

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That part of the Earth that lies beneath the crust and above the central core.

On average, the mantle begins about 22 mi (35 km) below the surface and ends at a depth of about 1,800 mi (2,900 km). Predominant in the rock material are olivines, pyroxenes, and the silicate perovskite, a dense form of enstatite.

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      that part of the Earth (q.v.) that lies beneath the crust and above the central core.

▪ cloak

      cloak fashioned from a rectangular piece of cloth, usually sleeveless, of varying width and length, wrapped loosely around the body. Usually worn as an outer garment in the ancient Mediterranean world, it developed in different styles, colours, and materials. The Greek chlamys (worn only by men) was a short mantle draped around the upper shoulders, pinned on the right shoulder with a brooch. It left the right arm free and was often used by travellers and military men. The Greek himation, draped in various ways, was a larger Greek mantle.

      Some Christian religious vestments, such as the cope and the pallium, probably developed from the mantle.

▪ invertebrate

also called  pallium,  plural  pallia,   or  palliums 

      in biology, soft covering, formed from the body wall, of brachiopods and mollusks; also, the fleshy outer covering, sometimes strengthened by calcified plates, of barnacles.

      The mantle of mollusks and brachiopods secretes the shell in species that possess shells. It also forms a mantle cavity between itself and the body. The brachiopod mantle has a dorsal and a ventral lobe covered with small papillae (nipple-like projections) that penetrate into the shell. The molluscan mantle has a left and a right lobe and, as in bivalves, may be joined at the edge to form siphons for directing water into and out of the mantle cavity.

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