mantel

man·tel also man·tle  (mntl)

n.

1. An ornamental facing around a fireplace. Also called regionally mantelpiece.

2. The protruding shelf over a fireplace. Also called mantelpiece, mantelshelf; also called regionally fireboard.

---

[Middle English mantel, as in mantiltre, beam over fireplace opening (perhaps from its use for drying wet clothing); see manteltree.]

---

mantel

Noun

a wooden, stone, or iron frame around a fireplace [variant of mantle]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

mantel - shelf that projects from wall above fireplace; "in Britain they call a mantel a chimneypiece" chimneypiece, mantelpiece, mantlepiece, mantle fireplace, hearth, open fireplace - an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built; "the fireplace was so large you could walk inside it"; "he laid a fire in the hearth and lit it"; "the hearth was black with the charcoal of many fires" shelf - a support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding objects