mantelshelf

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a shelf above a fireplace; a mantel

   A clock and two blue jars stood on the mantelshelf.

A compound of mantel + shelf, recorded from the early nineteenth century. Mantel is the specialized spelling for the beam or shelf over a fireplace; it ultimately shares the Latin source mantellum with mantle, 'cloak or covering.'

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