Dictionary

pass the mantle en · VERB

Etymology

A reference to a mantle worn as a symbol of office or authority.

Meanings

1. To transfer authority to the next in line; pass the torch.
   • Then, for unknown reasons, the last Lung king didn't pass the mantle to a son or daughter, but to the chieftain of the Wonambi. 2015, Caitlyn McFarland, Shadow of Flame:
   • The young girls who came of age during the Progressive era were reaping the benefits of a century of struggle waged by their mothers and grandmothers — the clubwomen had negotiated an entrance into public life, and they now hoped to pass the mantle on to the next generation. 2014, Gwen Tarbox, The Clubwomen's Daughters:
   • In contrast, there are a few noteworthy examples of intentional multigenerational projects, in which the senior ethnographers pass the mantle, as it were, to new researchers who then take responsibility to sustain the project into the future. 2002, Robert V. Kemper, Anya Peterson Royce, Chronicling Cultures: Long-term Field Research in Anthropology:

Forms