mantle in WordNet English dictionary

1. anything that covers
   "there was a blanket of snow"
   blanket  mantle 
   
2. a sleeveless garment like a cloak but shorter
   cape  mantle 
   
3. shelf that projects from wall above fireplace
   "in Britain they call a mantel a chimneypiece"
   mantel  mantelpiece  mantle  mantlepiece  chimneypiece 
   
4. hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
   curtain  drape  drapery  mantle  pall 
   
5. (zoology) a protective layer of epidermis in mollusks or brachiopods that secretes a substance forming the shell
   mantle  pallium 
   
6. the cloak as a symbol of authority
   "place the mantle of authority on younger shoulders"
   mantle 
   
7. the layer of the earth between the crust and the core
   mantle 
   

1. cover like a mantle
   "The ivy mantles the building"
   mantle 
   
2. spread over a surface, like a mantle
   mantle