Origin uncertain; perhaps related to German Pranger, Dutch prang.
branks (plural branks)
(historical) A punishment device, especially for scolding women, consisting of a cage to enclose the head, with a metal gag for the mouth; a scold's bridle.
Source: Wiktionary
Brank, Branks, n. Etym: [Cf. Gael. brangus, brangas, a sort of pillory, Ir. brancas halter, or D. pranger fetter.]
1. A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] Jamieson.
2. A scolding bridle, an instrument formerly used for correcting scolding women. It was an iron frame surrounding the head and having a triangular piece entering the mouth of the scold.
Brank, n. Etym: [Prov. of Celtic origin; cf. L. brance, brace, the Gallic name of a particularly white kind of corn.]
Definition: Buckwheat. [Local, Eng.] Halliwell.
Brank, Branks, n. Etym: [Cf. Gael. brangus, brangas, a sort of pillory, Ir. brancas halter, or D. pranger fetter.]
1. A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] Jamieson.
2. A scolding bridle, an instrument formerly used for correcting scolding women. It was an iron frame surrounding the head and having a triangular piece entering the mouth of the scold.
Brank, v. i.
1. To hold up and toss the head; -- applied to horses as spurning the bit. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
2. To prance; to caper. [Scot.] Jamieson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 April 2025
(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”
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