Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Mantel

Mantel , noun

[The same word as mantle a garment; compare French manteau de cheminée. See Mantle.]

(Architecture) The finish around a fireplace, covering the chimney-breast in front and sometimes on both sides; especially, a shelf above the fireplace, and its supports. The shelf is called also a mantelpiece or mantlepiece.