an ornamental shelf over a mantelpiece, often with a mirror
overmantel in American English
(ˈouvərˌmæntl)
adjective
1.
situated above a mantelpiece
noun
2.
an ornament or panel situated above a mantelpiece
Word origin
[1880–85; over- + mantel]This word is first recorded in the period 1880–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: barnstorm, highball, impressionism, jackpot, rain checkover- is a prefixal use of over, occurring in various senses in compounds (overboard; overcoat; overhang; overlap; overlord; overrun; overthrow), and especially employed, with the sense of “over the limit,” “to excess,” “toomuch,” “too,” to form verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and nouns (overact; overcapitalize; overcrowd; overfull; overmuch; oversupply; overweight), and many others, mostly self-explanatory: a hyphen, which is commonly absent fromold or well-established formations, is sometimes used in new coinages or in any wordswhose component parts it may be desirable to set off distinctly
Examples of 'overmantel' in a sentence
overmantel
She stood up and caught a glimpse of herself in the overmantel mirror.
Stewart, Michael COMPULSION
In the overmantel mirror as she passed she paused to check her appearance.
Stewart, Michael COMPULSION
If your house has fireplaces, you probably already own an overmantel mirror.