manticore 
2. An unidentified and perhaps imaginary kind 
of monkey. 
Mantidae (man'ti-de), n.pl. [NL., < Mantix + 
-i(Jo?.] A family of carnivorous raptorial or- 
thopterous insects, typified by the genus Mantis, 
with immensely long prothorax, and the fore legs 
peculiarly modified as grasping-organs for rap- 
torial purposes. They are known as rearhorses, race- 
horses, camel-insects, praying-insects, soothsayers, etc., from 
their peculiar shapes and postures, and are noted for their 
ferocity, pugnacity, and tenacity of life. The praying atti- 
tude, in which the fore legs are held peculiarly doubled up, 
is assumed for defense and aggression. The genera and 
species are numerous. Among the gressorial or ambula- 
torial orthopters the family contrasts with 
Also Mantida, Mantides. 
mantiger (man'ti-jer), n. See manticore. 
mantile, . Same as maniple.4:. 
mantilla (man-til'a), n. [= F. mantille, < 
Sp. 
mantilla = Pg. mantilha = It. mantiglia, mantle, 
mantilla: see mantle."] 1. A short mantle. 
Sir Francis Vere, conspicuous in the throng in his red 
mantilla. Motley, United Netherlands, II. 263. 
2. A light cloak or covering thrown over the 
dress of a lady. 
A Dona Inez with a black mantilla, 
Followed at twilight by an unknown lover. 
Longfellow, Spanish Student, i. 1. 
3. A womau's head-covering, often of lace, 
which falls down upon the shoulders and may 
be used as a veil, worn in Spain and the Span- 
ish colonies, in Genoa, and elsewhere. 
Her hair was partly covered by a lace mantilla, through 
which her arms, bare to the shoulder, gleamed white. 
B. L. Stevenson, The Dynamiter, p. 219. 
Mantis (man'tis), n. [NL., < Gr. /j.dvri(, a di- 
viner, seer, prophet, foreboder; also a locust or 
grasshopper described as having long thin fore 
legs, kept constantly in motion, perhaps Man tis 
religiosa, so called from the peculiar position of 
the fore legs, which 
resembles that of a 
person's hands at 
prayer ; orig. one 
who utters oracles 
while in a state of 
divine frenzy, < fiai- 
i>7ftu,rage,be mad, 
> [tavia, frenzy : see 
mania.'] 1. The typ- 
ical genus of Man- 
tida?, formerly the 
same as the family, 
now much restrict- 
ed. They are na- 
tives chiefly of trop- 
ical regions, but 
some species are 
common in tem- 
perate latitudes. 
2. II. c.; pi. mantes 
(-tez).] Any spe- 
cies Of the family Praying-mantis (Mantis rtltfiosal, 
Mantid; a rear- adult male, reduced one fourth. 
horse. The common rearhorse or praying-mantis of 
the United States is Phasmamantis Carolina. 
mantis-crab (man'tis-krab), n. Same as man- 
tis-shrimp, 1. 
Mantisia (man-tis'i-a), . [NL. (Sims, 1810), 
< mantis, the insect, which the flowers are 
thought to resemble.] A genus of monocotyle- 
donous plants of the natural order Zingiberacea;, 
the ginger family, and the tribe Zingiberea;. 
It is characterized by a one-celled ovary, with three 
parietal placentas, and by having lateral opposite thread- 
shaped staminodia extending from the middle of the fila- 
ment. They are herbs, with narrow leaves having a long 
twisted apex, and curious purple and yellow flowers grow- 
ing in loose clusters. There are two species, indigenous to 
the East Indies ; one of these, M. saltatoria, is often culti- 
vated for the singularity and beauty of its flowers, which 
bear some resemblance to a ballet-dancer ; hence the popu- 
lar name dancing-girls or opera-girls. See dancing-girt, 2. 
Mantispa (man-tis'pii), . [NL. (Illiger, 1798), 
irreg. or erroneously for "Mantiopa, < Gr. /i&vrif, 
an insect, NL. Mantis, + liiji (UTT-), face.] The 
typical genus of Mantispida;, so called from the 
likeness to a mantis, the prothorax being long 
and slender, and the fore legs enlarged and bent 
for grasping. The larva is hypermetamorphic, and has 
Mantis-shrimp (Squilla 
empusa). 
. , 
a double molt. The larvse live in the egg-bags of spiders. 
M. pagana is European ; others are found in all the warmer 
parts of the world. 
Mantispidae (man-tis'pi-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Mantispa + -idai.'] A family of planipennine 
neuropterous insects, tvpified by the genus 
Mantispa. J. 0. Westwood, 1840. 
Mantispinse (mau-tis-pi'ne), . j>?. [NL.,< Man- 
tispa + -MKB.J The Mantisiridw considered as a 
subfamily of the neuropterous family ffemero- 
bitdce. 
3618 
mantissa (man-tis'ii), w. [< L. mantissa, man- 
tisa, an addition, a makeweight; of Etruscan 
origin.] 1. A supplementary treatise ; a les- 
ser work following one on the same sub- 
ject. 2. The decimal 
part of a logarithm: so 
called as being additional 
to the characteristic or in- 
tegral part. Thus, in the 
logarithm of 900 = 2.9S424 the 
characteristic is 2, and the man- 
tissa is .95424. This use of the 
word was introduced by Henry 
Briggs, and is applied chiefly 
to Briggsian logarithms. See 
logarithm. 
3. [cop.] In zool., a ge- 
nus of mollusks. 
mantis-shrimp (man'tis- 
shrimp), w. 1. A stoma- 
topodous crustacean of 
the family Squillidce, as 
Squilla mantis or S. em- 
pusa : so called from the 
resemblance to the insect 
called mantis. See Gono- 
dactylns, Squilla. Also 
called man tis-crdb and 
locust-shrimp. 2. A Ise- 
modipodous crustacean of the family Caprel- 
lidce, as CapreJla linearis; a specter-shrimp: so 
called for the same reason as above. 
mantistic (man-tis'tik). a. [Irreg. < Gr. fiavrtc, a 
diviner, seer, prophet, + -istic.] Same as manlic. 
An idea of spiritual or mantistic qualities supposed to 
be peculiar to the female sex. 
A. Wilder, Knight's Anc. Art and Myth. (1876), p. 144. 
mantle (man'tl), n. [Formerly also mantel 
(still retained in the architectural sense), man- 
tell; < ME. mantel, mantylle, partly (a) < AS. 
mantel, mentel = OFries. D. MLG. mantel = 
OHG. mantal, mandal, MHG. mantel, mandel, 
G. mantel = Icel. mottull = Sw. Dan. mantel, a 
cloak; partly (6) < OF. mantel, F. manteau (> 
E. manteau, manto 1 , also mantua, q. v.), a cloak, 
a mantel (in arch.), = Pr. mantel, a cloak, = 
Sp. mantel, a table-cloth, = It. mantello, a 
cloak ; all < L. mantellum, mantelum, a cloak, 
mantle, also mantele, mantelitim, mantile, man- 
tilium, a towel, napkin, table-cloth, whence also 
It. mantile, mantle, = Pg. mantilha = Sp. man- 
tilla = It. dim. mantiglia, mantilla (>F. G. man- 
tille = E. mantilla, q. v.), a mantle ; also (< L. 
mantellum, regarded as dim.) ML. mantiim, > 
It. manto, ammanto = Sp. Pg. manto, m., also 
Sp. Pg. manta = F. mante, f., a cloak; per- 
haps orig. a 'hand-cloth,' < maims, the hand, 
+ tela, a web, texture : .^^ 
see toit 2 . A similar re- 
duction of maniis to 
man- occurs in man- 
snete, mancipate, etc.] 
1. A loose sleeveless 
garment worn as an 
outer covering, falling 
in straight lines from 
the shoulders ; a simple 
kind of cloak. Mantles 
were originally mere pieces 
of cloth of suitable size and 
shape, the upper corners of 
which were brought together 
and fastened at the neck or 
over one shoulder, with the 
loose edges lapping in front 
or at one side. Those worn 
during the middle ages and 
later were large and loose, 
capable of being drawn across 
the breast, but usually open 
in front and secured across 
the breast by a lace or chain. 
Long flowing mantles form a 
part of the distinguishing 
costume or insignia of British and other nobles and 
knights, and are represented more or less conventionally 
behind the escutcheon in coats of arms. 
The damsell was in her smok. with a mantitt a-bouten 
hir. Merlin (E. E. T. S.\ i. 17. 
And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, 
and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and 
thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 
2 Kt U. 8. 
2. Figuratively, a cover or covering; some- 
thing that conceals. 
Well covered with the night's black mantle. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., iv. 2. 22. 
Before the heavens thou wert, and, at the voice 
Of God, as with a mantle didst invest 
The rising world. Milton, P. L., iii. 10. 
A hot-water filter ... in which the mantel of water be- 
tween the glass funnel and the outer copper wall is kept 
warm by a flame which is placed under the tube. 
Hilppe, Bacteriological Investigations (trans.), p. 133. 
Mantle of Man-at-arms, 
15th century. 
mantle-cell 
Specifically () An outer covering of a wall, differing in 
material from the inner part. (6) In founding, a covering 
of porous clay laid over a pattern in wax. When heat is 
applied the wax melts and runs out, leaving the clay man- 
tle in condition to serve as a mold, (c) The outer envelop- 
ing masonry of a blast-furnace, (d) In zoiil. and anat., 
some part or organ which covers, conceals, or mantles : . 
(1) In Mollusea, the pallium. (2) In Cirripedia, the sac, 
formed by the dorsal part of the integument, which in- 
closes the body. (3) In ornith., the pallium or stragulum. 
See stragtdum. (4) The tunic of an ascidian. 
3. In her., same e mantling, 3. 4. An inclosed 
chute which leads water from a fore-bay to a 
water-wheel. E. H. Knight. 5. In the incan- 
descent gas-light of Dr. Auer von Weisbach, a 
tube variously composed of one or more of the 
oxids of zirconium, lanthanum, thorium, and 
cerium, and prepared by dipping a tube of cot- 
ton netting (made by a knitting-machine) into 
a solution, or mixed solutions, of the oxid or 
oxids, thus coating the filaments, which after 
coating are burned out, leaving a consolidated 
tube. Heated from the interior by the flame of Bunsen 
burners to the temperature of incandescence, these mau- 
tles become strongly luminous, andare said to last from 1,000 
to 2,000 hours of constant use. Duchesse mantle, a large 
easy silk cloak for women, worn about 1870. Electoral 
mantle. See electoral. Empress mantle, a kind of bur- 
noose worn by women about I860. Josephine mantle, 
an outer garment for women, with-a cape, worn about 1850. 
Lady's mantle. See lady's-manOe.To take the 
mantle or mantle and ring, to vow perpetual widow- 
hood. During the fifteenth century and later, it was cus- 
tomary for widows to take such pledges, sometimes in the 
presence of a clergyman or other witnesses. See widow's 
mantle, below. Watteau mantle, a woman's mantle or 
cloak worn about 1866, distinguished by a Watteau back and 
other resemblances to garments represented in the pictures 
of Watteau. Widow's mantle, a mantle assumed, usu- 
ally with a ring, as evidence of a vow of perpetual widow- 
hood. It appears to have been a russet cloak. 
mantle (man'tl), v . ; pret. and pp. mantled, ppr. 
mantling. [< ME. mantlen; < mantle, .] I. 
trans. 1. To cover with or as if with a mantle ; 
disguise ; obscure or protect by covering up. 
So their rising senses 
Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle 
Their clearer reason. Shale., Tempest, v. 1. 67. 
Mar. Come I too late ? 
Com. Ay, if you come not in the blood of others, 
But mantled in your own. Shak., Cor., i. 6. 2fl. 
Darkness the Bkies had mantled o'er 
In aid of her design. 
Cmcper, Queen's Visit to London. 
Specifically 2. In the manufacture of alum 
from aluminous shales or alum ores, to cover 
(a partly or completely calcined heap of the 
ore) with a layer of previously calcined ore. 
Volatilization and loss of sulphur from excessive heat and 
the injurious action of wind and rain are thus avoided 
during the progress of the operation and while the heap is 
cooling. 
Calcination is then effected by means of a smothered fire. 
... To this end, the mass is after a time covered with a 
coating of calcined ore, or mantled, as it is termed, in or- 
der to shelter the burning heap from wind and rain, and 
to moderate the heat. Sports' Encyc. Manuf., I. 327. 
II. intrans. 1 . To expand and spread ; serve 
as a mantle or covering. 
The pair [of wings] that clad 
Each shoulder broad came mantling o'er his breast 
With regal ornament. Milton, P. L., v. 279. 
2. To become covered with a coating, as a 
barmy liquid; send up froth or scum; cream, 
or cream over ; foam. 
The cup of Joy 
Unmingled mantles to the goblet's brim. 
Shelley, Queen Mab, viii. 
3. To be or become overspread or suffused, as 
with blushes or color ; hence, to display a super- 
ficial change of hue or of expression. 
At the distant hint of dark surmise, 
The blood into the mantling cheek would rise. 
Crabbe, Works, V. 120. 
The rosy blush of morn began to mantle in the east. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 109. 
You could see an unusual, because a lively, spark dan- 
cing in his eyes, and a new-found vivacity mantling on his 
dark physiognomy. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, iii. 
4. In falcom-y, to stretch out one wing after 
the leg, as a hawk, by way of relief; spread 
out the wings for ease : sometimes used figura- 
tively. 
There my fraile fancy, fed with full delight, 
Doth bath in blisse, and mantleth most at ease. 
Spenser, Sonnets, Ixxii. 
Or tend his spar-hawke mantling in her mewe. 
Bp. HaU, Satires, iv. 4. 
mantle-animal (man'tl-an"i-mal), n. A sea- 
squirt; one of the ascidians or tunicaries : trans- 
lating the technical name Tiinicata. Haeckel. 
mantle-breathing (man'tl-bre'THing), a. Ee- 
spiring by means of the mantle or pallium ; 
palliobranchiate, as a brachiopod : as, the 
ininitlc-lireathiiiff mollusks. 
mantle-Cell (man'tl-sel), . In fri//>t<ii/nmi/, 
same as tapetal cell. 
