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



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Word of the Day

22 November 2024

SHEET

(noun) (nautical) a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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