Mantle (clothing)

A mantle (from old French mantel, from mantellum, the Latin term for a cloak) is a type of loose garment usually worn over indoor clothing to serve the same purpose as an overcoat.

Technically, the term describes a long, loose cape-like cloak worn from the 12th to the 16th century by both sexes, although by the 19th century, it was used to describe any loose-fitting, shaped outer garment similar to a cape.

[1] For example, the dolman, a 19th-century cape-like woman's garment with partial sleeves is often described as a mantle.

[3] The most notable appearance in the Bible is in 2 Kings 2:13, where Elisha takes up Elijah's mantle (Hebrew: אדרת ’addereṯ).

The term appears as early as 1386, in "The Knight's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer.