mantel

Mantel is a term with several distinct uses in English. It commonly refers to the fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, the decorative framing and shelf above a hearth. The mantel can be a freestanding surround or part of the built-in architecture, and it is often used to display items such as photographs, clocks, or ornaments. In American English, mantel is a common spelling for this feature, while mantle is another form that appears in related senses, including the geologic term mantle.

Mantel also appears as a surname. Mantel is of German or Dutch origin and is found in various genealogical and historical records.

In statistics, the Mantel test is a nonparametric method for assessing the correlation between two distance or similarity matrices. Named after statistician Nathan Mantel, it measures how well one set of distances aligns with another and uses permutation to evaluate significance. The test is widely used in ecology, genetics, and geography to explore relationships between spatial, genetic, or ecological patterns. While useful for exploratory analysis, the Mantel test has limitations, including sensitivity to the structure of the data and to spatial autocorrelation, which researchers address with complementary methods.