mantelshelf

English

Etymology

From mantel +‎ shelf.

Noun

mantelshelf (plural mantelshelves)

1. A shelf above a fireplace.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.

2. (climbing) Synonym of mantel (“type of maneuver to surmount a ledge”)

Related terms

• mantelpiece