1a woollen vestment conferred by the Pope on an archbishop, consisting of a narrow circular band placed round the shoulders with a short lappet hanging from front and back.
2 historical a man’s large rectangular cloak, especially as worn by Greek philosophical and religious teachers.
3 Zoology the mantle of a mollusc or brachiopod.
4 Anatomy the outer wall of the mammalian cerebrum, corresponding to the cerebral cortex.