Gauntlet

Pronunciation

• enPR: gônt’lÉ™t, IPA: /ˈgÉ”nt.lÉ™t/

Alternative forms

• gantlet

Middle English "glove", also gantelet, 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")

Noun

1. Protective armor for the hands.
• 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 22:The hands were defended by Gauntlets, these were sometimes of chain mail, but oftener of small plates of iron rivetted together, in imitation of the lobster's tail, so as to yield every motion of the hand, some gauntlets inclosed the whole hand, as in a box or case, others were divided into fingers, each finger consisting of eight or ten separate pieces, the inside gloved with buff leather, some of these reached no higher than the wrist, others to the elbow; the latter were stiled long armed gauntlets: many of them are to be seen in the Tower; for a representation of one of them, see plate 26, fig 6.
2. (nautical) A rope on which hammocks or clothes are hung for drying.

Derived terms

• to take up the gauntlet
• to throw down the gauntlet

From gantlope, from Swedish gatlopp ("passageway"), from Old Swedish gata ("lane") + lopp ("course"), from löpa ("to run")

Full definition of gauntlet

Noun

1. (archaic) Two parallel rows of attackers who strike at a criminal as punishment
2. Simultaneous attack from two or more sides
3. (figuratively) Any challenging, difficult, or painful ordeal, often one performed for atonement or punishment
4. (rail) A temporary convergence of two parallel railroad tracks allowing passage through a narrow opening in each direction without switching.

Derived terms

• running the gauntlet