gauntlet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡɔːnt.lət/^[1]

Etymology

There are two words.^[2][3][4] The glove is inherited from Middle English gantelet,^[2][4] borrowed from Middle French gantelet, a diminutive of gant “glove”,^[2][3][4][5] from Frankish *want.^[2][4][5] The punishment, as in run the gauntlet, is an alteration of earlier gantlope (1646),^[4][2] borrowed from Swedish gatlopp, from gata “lane” and lopp “course”,^[2][4] probably picked up by English soldiers fighting alongside the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War.^[4] The second word was gradually reshaped after the first.^[4][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An armoured glove worn as part of medieval armour (about 1420).^[6][4][5]

Semantic evolution

In medieval custom a knight threw down his gauntlet as a challenge, and throw down the gauntlet is found in English by the 1540s.^[5][6] In the 19th century the word was applied to stout gloves with a flared cuff, used for driving or riding (1858).^[6] The other gauntlet first named a military punishment in which the offender ran between two rows of men who struck him (1661);^[4][6] it then came to mean any attack from all sides or a severe ordeal.^[2][3][7] The spelling gauntlet for both words was not fixed until the mid-1800s, and gantlet is still a variant for the second.^[4][3]

Timeline

• about 1420 – a glove of medieval armour.^[6][4]
• 1548 – throw down the gauntlet, to give a challenge.^[6][5]
• 1646 – gantlope, the punishment of running between two rows of men.^[4]
• 1661 – run the gantlet, literal and figurative.^[4][6]
• 1858 – a stout glove for driving, riding or sport.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A protective glove worn with medieval armour.
2. A sturdy glove with a flared cuff, used in work, sports or driving.
3. A challenge, as in throw down the gauntlet.
4. A former punishment in which a person ran between two lines of men who beat him.
5. An attack from all sides, or a severe trial; an ordeal.

Word family

• gauntleted

Related words

• gantlet
• gait
• lope

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary accepts the spelling gauntlet for both words, though gantlet is still used for the punishment.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House