Etymologically
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gauntlet

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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
  • 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