manta
[man-tuh; Spanish mahn-tah]
- (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.
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Origin of manta
Manta
[mahn-tah, -tuh]
- a seaport in W Ecuador, on Manta Bay.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for manta
Contemporary Examples
For everyone else, the recently unveiled Manta Underwater Room in Zanzibar sounds like a dream come true.
Historical Examples
It is not the first time Tula has ruled an outfit, and it is not the manta!
The Treasure TrailMarah Ellis Ryan
Then her hand went under her manta and drew out the curved knife.
The Treasure TrailMarah Ellis Ryan
Tula had recovered her belt, and fastened it under the manta she wore.
The Treasure TrailMarah Ellis Ryan
Her eye became fixed upon one that was covered with a manta.
The White ChiefMayne Reid
Assume the superior air of a real plainsman and speak of it as a "manta."
The Book of Camp-Lore and WoodcraftDan Beard
manta
- 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)
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for manta
n.
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"].
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper