manteau Obs. exc. Hist.
Forms: α. 7–8 mantoe, 7–9 manto; β. 7 mantou, -ow, 7–9 manteau.
[a. F. manteau:—L. mantellum: see mantle n.]
1. (See quot. 1706.)
| α 1678 Butler Hud. iii. i. 700 Jealous piques, Which th' Ancients wisely signify'd By th' yellow mantos of the bride. 1691 Emilianne's Frauds Rom. Monks (ed. 3) 408 Womens Cloaths; as Mantoe's, Stays and Petticoats. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Mantoe or Mantua Gown, (Fr.) a loose upper Garment, now generally worn by Women, instead of a straight-body'd Gown. c 1720 Duke of Montagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 367 The women..with their mantoes stuck out behind. 1729–30 Lady Stanley in Mrs. Delany's Life & Corr. (1861) I. 235 Your sister Pendarvis sends you your manto and petticoat to be a bridesmaid. |
| β 1671 Shadwell Humorist i. 2 A delicate white Mantou. 1687 Miege Gt. Fr. Dict. ii, Mantow, a sort of Women's Gown. 1690 Evelyn Mundus Muliebris 2 Three Manteaus, nor can Madam less Provision have for due undress. 1702 Addison Dial. Medals (1727) 17 An Antiquary will scorn to mention..a petticoat or a manteau. 1793 Residence in France (1797) I. 291 The ladies, equipped only in a short manteau and petticoat. 1816 Scott Old Mort. ix, Tell my gentlewoman to bring my black scarf and manteau. |
b. attrib., as manteau girdle, manteau gown.
| 1682 True Protest. Mercury No. 162. 2/2 Lost a Flowerd silk Manto Gown. 1690 Evelyn Mundus Muliebris 3 A Manteau Girdle. |
‖ 2. transf. The plumage of a falcon.
| 1852 R. F. Burton Falconry in Valley of Indus vii. 74 Grease of all kinds injures the manteau. [foot-note] Coat or plumage. |
Hence manteau'd a., dressed in a manteau.
| 1788 ‘A. Pasquin’ Childr. Thespis (1792) 43 Her vests mend her frame, as the harp tunes the wind; She is manteau'd fallacious before and behind. |
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▸ Esp. in Iran: a coat or smock worn in public by some Muslim women.
| 1985 Christian Sci. Monitor 6 Aug. 21/3 Women must wear either a chador..or a manteau (a loose smock worn over pants, from the French word for coat) with a scarf on the head. 1997 Jrnl. Palestine Stud. 27 78 Whenever the women of Guyom went out in public, they wore a manteau, a loose-fitting, ankle-length, trench-coat-like covering over their clothes. 2006 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Apr. 19 Her tight, short black manteau with intricate gold patterns seemed designed to provoke the ire of the authorities. |