n. & v.
n. 1 a loose sleeveless cloak, esp. of a woman. 2 a covering (a mantle of snow). 3 a spiritual influence or authority (see 2 Kings 2:13). 4 a fragile lacelike tube fixed round a gas-jet to give an incandescent light. 5 an outer fold of skin enclosing a mollusc's viscera. 6 a bird's back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, esp. if of a distinctive colour. 7 the region between the crust and the core of the earth.
v. 1 tr. clothe in or as if in a mantle; cover, conceal, envelop. 2 intr. a (of the blood) suffuse the cheeks. b (of the face) glow with a blush. 3 intr. (of a liquid) become covered with a coating or scum.
[ ME f. OF f. L mantellum cloak ]