Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Mantis \Man"tis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a prophet.] (Zo["o]l.)
   Any one of numerous species of voracious orthopterous insects
   of the genus {Mantis}, and allied genera. They are remarkable
   for their slender grotesque forms, and for holding their
   stout anterior legs in a manner suggesting hands folded in
   prayer. The common American species is {M. Carolina}.

   {Mantis shrimp}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Sguilla}.