Manta

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Manta \Man"ta\, n. [From the native name.] (Zool.)
     The {manta ray}. See also {Cephaloptera} and {Sea devil}.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  manta ray \manta ray\ n.
     An extremely large pelagic tropical ray of the family
     {Mobulidae}, that feeds on plankton and small fishes. It is
     usually harmless but its size (up to 20 feet across and up to
     a ton in weight) make it dangerous if harpooned. Called also
     {manta}, {sea devil} and {devilfish}. See also {Cephaloptera}
     and {Sea devil}.
     [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cephaloptera \Ceph`a*lop"te*ra\
     (s[e^]f`[.a]*l[o^]p"t[-e]*r[.a]), n. [NL., fr. Gr. kefalh`
     head + ptero`n wing.] (Zool.)
     One of the generic names of the gigantic ray ({Manta
     birostris}) of the family {Mobulidae}, known as {devilfish},
     {sea devil}, {manta} and {manta ray}. It is common on the
     coasts of South Carolina, Florida, and farther south, and is
     sometimes found as far north as New York Bay. Some of them
     grow to enormous size, becoming twenty feet of more across
     the body, and weighing more than a ton.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  manta
       n 1: a blanket that is used as a cloak or shawl
       2: extremely large pelagic tropical ray that feeds on plankton
          and small fishes; usually harmless but its size make it
          dangerous if harpooned [syn: {manta ray}, {devilfish}]