a garment worn by men in ancient Greece or Rome, made by draping a large rectangular cloth about the body
2. mainly Roman Catholic Church
a woollen vestment consisting of a band encircling the shoulders with two lappets hanging from it front and back: worn by the pope, all archbishops, and (as a mark of special honour) some bishops
3. Also called: mantle anatomy
the cerebral cortex and contiguous white matter
4. zoology another name for mantle (sense 5)
Word origin
C16: from Latin: cloak; related to Latin palla mantle