GAUNTLETING

GAUNTLET

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

16 May 2025

AMPHIPROSTYLAR

(adjective) marked by columniation having free columns in porticoes either at both ends or at both sides of a structure


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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