manta
pronunciation
How to pronounce manta in British English:
UK [ˈmæntə]
How to pronounce manta in American English:
US ['mæntə]
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- Noun:
- a blanket that is used as a cloak or shawl
- extremely large pelagic tropical ray that feeds on plankton and small fishes; usually harmless but its size make it dangerous if harpooned
Word Origin
- manta (n.)
- very large ray (also called devilfish), 1760, from Spanish manta "blanket" (which is attested in English from 1748 in this sense, specifically in reference to a type of wrap or cloak worn by Spaniards), from Late Latin mantum "cloak," back-formation from Latin mantellum "cloak" (see mantle (n.)). The ray so called "for being broad and long like a quilt" [Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, "A Voyage to South America"].
Example
- 1. Unlike stingrays , manta rays do not have venomous tail barbs .
- 2. Manta rays regularly visit " cleaning stations " where small wrasse fish clean them of parasites .
- 3. Manta station , do you read me ?
- 4. In the clear blue waters of the maldives I once found myself ignoring a pair of giant manta rays just five metres from where I was kneeling on the sand staring at a coral outcrop .
- 5. The cites meeting is also considering protection for manta rays , which are being fished for their gill plates , sold in china as medicine and claimed to treat a range of health complaints from asthma to chicken pox and even cancer .