mantua

M3A1N1T1U1A1
/ˈmæn.t(j)u.ə//ˈmæn.t͡ʃu.ə//ˈmæn.ə.weɪ/

noun

An article of loose clothing popular in 17th- and 18th century France.

Less commonScrabble 8

Meanings

mantua1

nounmantua (plural mantuas)

plural mantuas

  1. An article of loose clothing popular in 17th- and 18th century France.
  2. obsoleteA superior kind of rich silk formerly exported from Mantua in Italy.

    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 […]

    1882, S. William Beck, The Draper's Dictionary
  3. obsoleteA woman's cloak or mantle.
  4. obsoleteA woman's gown.

    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’.

    1818, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 9, in Nightmare Abbey, Hookham, published 1818

Mantua2

proper noun
  1. Province of Lombardy, Italy.
  2. City and capital of Mantua.

    He and I / Will watch thy waking, and that very night / Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua.

    c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

Origin

mantua · noun

  1. Frenchmanteau
  2. Englishmantua

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

Full word history & related roots →

Mantua · proper noun

  1. LatinMantua
  2. EnglishMantua

From Latin Mantua.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مانتوفا
  • مانتوفا (māntūfā)city
Catalan Màntua, Màntua
  • Màntuaprovince
  • Màntuacity
Czech Mantova
  • Mantovacity
Dutch Mantua, Mantua
  • Mantuaprovince
  • Mantuacity
French Mantoue, Mantoue
  • Mantoueprovince
  • Mantouecity
Greek Μάντουα, Μάντοβα
  • Μάντουα (Mántoua)city
  • Μάντοβα (Mántova)city
Hebrew מנטובה
  • מנטובהcity
Italian Mantova, Mantova
  • Mantovaprovince
  • Mantovacity
Latin Mantua
  • Mantuacity
Polish Mantua, Mantua
  • Mantuaprovince
  • Mantuacity
Portuguese Mântua, Mântua
  • Mântuaprovince
  • Mântuacity
Russian Ма́нтуя, Ма́нтуя
  • Ма́нтуя (Mántuja)province
  • Ма́нтуя (Mántuja)city
Spanish Mantua
  • Mantuacity

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

mantua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mantua

MLA

“mantua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mantua. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mantua,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mantua.

Source: mantua on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.