Mantle

How to spell mantle

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce mantle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mantle mean?

1. nounA role, authority, or set of responsibilities passed from one person to another.
2. nounA loose sleeveless cloak or wrap worn over other clothing.
3. nounThe thick layer of the Earth lying between the outer crust and the central core.

Mantle in a sentence

• After the founder retired, his daughter took up the mantle of running the company.

• The queen wore a heavy velvet mantle trimmed with fur over her gown.

• Molten rock from the Earth's mantle rises to the surface during a volcanic eruption.

• The new manager assumed the mantle of leadership without any formal training.

• A thick woollen mantle kept the shepherd warm through the cold night.

• Geologists study how heat moves through the mantle to drive plate tectonics.

Where does mantle come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin mantellum, meaning a cloak or covering, possibly itself a diminutive of mantum, a short Spanish-style cloak. It entered Old English early as mentel, a borrowing of that Latin word for a loose sleeveless garment, and was then reinforced and reshaped by the Old French mantel after the Norman Conquest, which is where the modern spelling with -tle settles. From the literal idea of a cloak draped over the shoulders, the word grew a strong figurative sense: to take up someone's mantle is to assume their authority or role, an image rooted in the biblical story of Elijah passing his cloak to Elisha. Geologists later borrowed it for the thick layer that wraps the Earth's core like a covering. The closely related spelling mantel, reserved for the shelf above a fireplace, split off from the very same root, which is exactly why the two are so often confused in writing.

How the word is built

• mantle (from Latin mantellum: cloak, covering); single root word, no productive prefix or suffix