What does mantua mean?
A mantua is a woman's loose, full-length gown or robe, particularly the elegant garments associated with elite dress in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe. It was often made from rich textiles and could be adapted for formal, domestic, or riding wear. Although the word survives in historical writing and in descriptions of portraits and period costume, “mantua” is not a common everyday term for a modern dress. In a separate geographical sense, Mantua is the capital city of the Italian province of the same name. This city is especially associated with Renaissance culture, Virgil's tomb, and the music of Claudio Monteverdi, who served at its court. The garment and the place name are usually distinguished by capitalization: lowercase “mantua” refers to the clothing, while capitalized “Mantua” normally refers to the city.
nounA woman's loose, full-length gown or robe, especially one worn in the 17th and 18th centuries. The name Mantua is also the capital city of the province of Mantua in northern Italy.
- A loose, full-length woman's gown or robe, especially fashionable during the 17th and 18th centuries.
- The capital city of Mantua, a province in northern Italy; normally capitalized in this sense.
"Portraitists often depicted her wearing an elegant silk mantua."
"The gownmaker produced a new mantua with an unusually wide skirt."
"They travelled by night and reached Mantua shortly before dawn."
The usual plural for garments; the geographical name Mantua is not normally pluralized.
"The collection includes several mantuas made from silk."
The elegant mantua was a hallmark of formal dress in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of mantua
The clothing word entered English during the seventeenth century from Italian, where it referred to a loose gown. Italian mantua ultimately derives from Latin mantua, although the ancient word's precise origin is uncertain. The place-name Mantua was independently borrowed into English from Latin and is not generally regarded as a development of the garment term.
How mantua is actually used
In the clothing sense, the word is now chiefly historical or literary. The geographical sense is normally written with an initial capital letter, as in Mantua, Italy.
Easily confused with mantua
Lowercase mantua denotes a historical garment, while Mantua with an initial capital letter ordinarily denotes the Italian city.
A mantua is a full-length woman's gown or robe, whereas a mantle can be a cloak, a covering, or a figurative layer.