Link Centre Dictionary

gauntlet

gaunt·let

UK/ˈɡɔːnt.lət/ US/ˈɡɔntlʌt/ uncommon archaic

noun

1.

to offer or accept a challenge

  • “threw down the gauntlet”
  • “took up the gauntlet”
Synonyms
2.

a glove of armored leather; protects the hand

Synonyms
3.

a glove with long sleeve

Synonyms
4.

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

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English gauntelett, gantlett, a borrowing from Old French gantelet (“gauntlet worn by a knight in armor, a token of one's personality or person, and symbolizing a challenge”), diminutive of gant (“glove”), a borrowing from Frankish *want (“glove; mitten”) and reinforced by Medieval Latin wantus (“glove”) itself borrowed from the former, from Proto-Germanic *wantuz (“glove; mitten”). Cognate with Dutch want (“mitten; shroud”), German Low German Want (“shroud”), Danish vante (“mitten”), Swedish vante (“glove; mitten”), Faroese vøttur (“glove; mitten”).

Phrases

  • run the gauntlet
  • running the gauntlet
  • take up the gauntlet
  • throw down the gauntlet

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.