mantua

See also: Mantua, Mântua, and Mantüa

English

A 17th century picture of a woman wearing a mantua

Etymology

From French manteau, perhaps by confusion with Mantua in Italy.

Noun

mantua (plural mantuas)

1. An article of loose clothing popular in 17th- and 18th century France.
2. (obsolete) A superior kind of rich silk formerly exported from Mantua in Italy.
   • 1882, S. William Beck, The Draper's Dictionary:

     Anderson mentions black and coloured mantuas amongst other silks introduced here by the French immigrants of 1685. […] Mantuas are also included in a list of silks advertised for sale in the British Chronicle of 1763 […]

3. (obsolete) A woman's cloak or mantle.
4. (obsolete) A woman's gown.
   • 1818, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 9, in Nightmare Abbey, Hookham, published 1818:

     Her dress was extremely elegant, but had an appearance of foreign fashion, as if both the lady and her mantua-maker were of 'a far countree’.

Anagrams

• tamanu

Brunei Malay

Etymology

Cognate with Malay mertua.

Noun

mantua

1. A parent-in-law.