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.
Etymology: ME f. OF f. L mantellum cloak