gauntlet

nounnounattested in dialogue

//ˈɡɔːnt.lət//

Protective armor for the hands, formerly thrown down as a challenge to combat.

noun

1
Protective armor for the hands, formerly thrown down as a challenge to combat.
2
A long glove covering the wrist.
The hawk no longer darts forth from the gauntlet to soar through the air for his prey.
Solventproof rubber gauntlets under solventproof sleeves closed at the wrists should be worn.
3
A rope on which hammocks or clothes are hung for drying.
4
An eruption of pellagra on the hands.

Etymology

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”).

noun

1
archaicTwo parallel rows of attackers who strike at a criminal as punishment.
2
A simultaneous attack from two or more sides.
3
figurativeAny challenging, difficult, or painful ordeal, often one performed for atonement or punishment.
[John] Winthrop ran the gantlet of daily slights from his neighbors.
4
A fight against swarms of relatively minor enemies in the form of multiple waves, often but not always preceding a boss.
5
Overlapping parallel rail tracks; either to allowing passage through a narrow opening in each direction without switching, or to allow vehicles of a larger gauge to pass through a station without hitting the platforms.

Etymology

Modified, under the influence of etymology 1, from gantlope, from Swedish gatlopp (“passageway”), from Old Swedish gata (“lane”) + lopp (“course”), from löpa (“to run”) ]

Forms

plural: gauntlets

gator · Alligator.gauge · A measure; a standard of measure; an instrument to determine…Gauge · A male given name.

gauntlet · Protective armor for the hands, formerly thrown down as a challenge to combat.

gauze · A thin fabric with a loose, open weave.gavel · To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.Gavin · A male given name from the Celtic languages.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.