~ 1
■ noun
1》 a woman's loose sleeveless cloak or shawl.
2》 a covering: a ~ of snow.
3》 an important role or responsibility that passes from one person to another. [with allusion to the passing of Elijah's cloak (~) to Elisha (2 Kings 2:13).]
4》 (also gas ~ ) a mesh cover fixed round a gas jet to give an incandescent light when heated.
5》 Ornithology a bird's back, scapulars, and wing coverts.
6》 Zoology an outer or enclosing layer of tissue, especially (in molluscs, cirripedes, and brachiopods) a fold of skin enclosing the viscera and secreting the shell.
7》 Geology the region of the earth's interior between the crust and the core, believed to consist of hot, dense silicate rocks (mainly peridotite).
■ verb
1》 literary cloak or envelop.
2》 (of the face) glow with a blush.
3》 (of a bird of prey on the ground) spread the wings and tail, especially so as to cover captured prey.
4》 archaic (of a liquid) become covered with a head or froth.
Origin
OE mentel , from L. mantellum 'cloak'.
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~ 2
■ noun variant spelling of mantel .