Other forms: mantles
The mantle is the hot layer between the earth's crust and its core. The earth's mantle, mantle convection, deep in the mantle.
It is about two thousand nine hundred kilometres thick and makes up the great majority of the planet's volume. It is solid rock that flows extremely slowly, and that convection drives the movement of the tectonic plates above it. The other senses are a cloak, which is the original, and a role or responsibility passed on: take up the mantle. Note mantelpiece, which is spelled differently and sits above a fire.
1nounmantleThe hot layer between the earth's crust and core.
“The mantle is about two thousand nine hundred kilometres thick.”
2nounroleA role or responsibility passed on.
“After her father retired, she took on the mantle of running the family farm.”
mantle is a covering layer or inherited role.
Latin mantellum means a cloak. The geological layer is named for wrapping the core, and taking up somebody's mantle is literally putting on their cloak — an image from the prophet Elijah.
Proto-Indo-European
*menH- — tread, press together; crumble
Proto-Celtic
*mantos
cel-gau
*mantos
Latin
mantellum — covering, cloak
Anglo-Norman
mantel
Proto-West Germanic
*mantel
Old English
mæntel
Middle English
mantel
English, today
mantle
Built from
From Middle English mantel, from Old English mæntel, mentel (“sleeveless cloak”), from Proto-West Germanic mantel; later reinforced by Anglo-Norman mantel, both from Latin mantellum (“covering, cloak”) (French manteau), diminutive of mantum (Spanish manto), probably from cel-gau mantos, mantalos (“trodden road”), from Proto-Celtic mantos, mantlos, from Proto-Indo-European menH- (“tread, press together; crumble”). Compare Icelandic möttull. a doublet of manteau.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA