manta
[ man-tuh; Spanish mahn-tah ]
/ ˈmæn tə; Spanish ˈmɑn tɑ /
noun, plural man·tas [man-tuh z; Spanish mahn-tahs] /ˈmæn təz; Spanish ˈmɑn tɑs/.
(in Spain and Spanish America) a cloak or wrap.
the type of blanket or cloth used on a horse or mule.
Military. a movable shelter formerly used to protect besiegers, as when attacking a fortress.
Ichthyology. Also called manta ray, devil ray, devilfish. any of several tropical rays of the small family Mobulidae, especially of the genus Manta, measuring from 2 to 24 feet (0.6 to 7.3 meters) across, including the pectoral fins.
Nearby words
- manstealing,
- mansuetude,
- mansur,
- mansur, al-,
- mansûra,
- manta bay,
- mantapa,
- mantaro,
- manteau,
- manteca
Origin of manta
Manta
[ mahn-tah, -tuh ]
/ ˈmɑn tɑ, -tə /
noun
a seaport in W Ecuador, on Manta Bay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for manta
manta
/ (ˈmæntə, Spanish ˈmanta) /
noun
Also called: manta ray, devilfish, devil ray any large ray (fish) of the family Mobulidae, having very wide winglike pectoral fins and feeding on plankton
a rough cotton cloth made in Spain and Spanish America
a piece of this used as a blanket or shawl
another word for mantelet (def. 2)
Word Origin for manta
Spanish: cloak, from Vulgar Latin; see mantle. The manta ray is so called because it is caught in a trap resembling a blanket
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
manta
very large ray (also called devilfish), 1760, from Spanish manta "blanket" (which is attested in English from 1748 in this sense, specifically in reference to a type of wrap or cloak worn by Spaniards), from Late Latin mantum "cloak," back-formation from Latin mantellum "cloak" (see mantle (n.)). The ray so called "for being broad and long like a quilt" [Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, "A Voyage to South America"].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper