Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A beam, a stone, or an arch that functions as a lintel on a fireplace, supporting the masonry above.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In architecture, a beam behind the mantelpiece serving as the lintel to a fireplace, sometimes replaced by a brick arch, to which the name is also given.
  • noun Same as mantelpiece.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Arch.) The lintel of a fireplace when of wood, as frequently in early houses.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun mantel

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English mantiltre : mantle, mantle; see mantle + tre, beam; see tree.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word manteltree.

Examples

  • Well, certainly, that prayer seemed to take us all right up and put us down in heaven! and when I opened my eyes, and saw the roses and asparagus-bushes on the manteltree-piece, I had to ask myself, 'Where have I been?'

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 23, September, 1859 Various

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.