GAUNTLET
gauntlet, gantlet
(noun) a form of punishment in which a person is forced to run between two lines of men facing each other and armed with clubs or whips to beat the victim
gauntlet, gantlet
(noun) a glove with long sleeve
gauntlet, gantlet, metal glove
(noun) a glove of armored leather; protects the hand
gauntlet, gantlet
(noun) to offer or accept a challenge; “threw down the gauntlet”; “took up the gauntlet”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
gauntlet (plural gauntlets)
Protective armor for the hands, formerly thrown down as a challenge to combat.
A long glove covering the wrist.
(nautical) A rope on which hammocks or clothes are hung for drying.
Etymology 2
Noun
gauntlet (plural gauntlets)
(archaic) Two parallel rows of attackers who strike at a criminal as punishment
Simultaneous attack from two or more sides
(figuratively) Any challenging, difficult, or painful ordeal, often one performed for atonement or punishment
(rail) A temporary convergence of two parallel railroad tracks allowing passage through a narrow opening in each direction without switching.
Source: Wiktionary
Gaunt"let, n. (Mil.)
Definition: See Gantlet.
Gaunt"let, n. Etym: [F. gantelet, dim. of gant glove, LL. wantus, of
Teutonic origin; cf. D. want, Sw. & Dan. vante, Icel. vöttr, for
vantr.]
1. A glove of such material that it defends the hand from wounds.
Note: The gauntlet of the Middle Ages was sometimes of chain mail,
sometimes of leather partly covered with plates, scales, etc., of
metal sewed to it, and, in the 14th century, became a glove of small
steel plates, carefully articulated and covering the whole hand
except the palm and the inside of the fingers.
2. A long glove, covering the wrist.
3. (Naut.)
Definition: A rope on which hammocks or clothes are hung for drying. To
take up the gauntlet, to accept a challenge.
– To throw down the gauntlet, to offer or send a challenge. The
gauntlet or glove was thrown down by the knight challenging, and was
taken up by the one who accepted the challenge; -- hence the phrases.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition