gauntlet1

[gawnt-lit, gahnt-] /ˈgɔnt lɪt, ˈgɑnt-/
noun
1.
a medieval glove, as of mail or plate, worn by a knight in armor to protect the hand.
2.
a glove with an extended cuff for the wrist.
3.
the cuff itself.
Idioms
4.
take up the gauntlet,
  1. to accept a challenge to fight:
    He was always willing to take up the gauntlet for a good cause.
  2. to show one's defiance.
Also, take up the glove.
5.
throw down the gauntlet,
  1. to challenge.
  2. to defy.
Also, throw down the glove.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English gantelet < Middle French, diminutive of gant glove < Germanic *want-; compare Old Norse vǫttr
Related forms
gauntleted, adjective
ungauntleted, adjective

gauntlet2

[gawnt-lit, gahnt-] /ˈgɔnt lɪt, ˈgɑnt-/
noun, Also, gantlet (for defs 1, 2, 4).
1.
a former punishment, chiefly military, in which the offender was made to run between two rows of men who struck at him with switches or weapons as he passed.
2.
the two rows of men administering this punishment.
3.
an attack from two or all sides.
4.
trying conditions; an ordeal.
5.
gantlet1 (def 1).
verb (used with object)
6.
gantlet1 (def 3).
Idioms
7.
run the gauntlet, to suffer severe criticism or tribulation.
Origin
1670-80; alteration of gantlope
Examples from the web for gauntlet
  • For some of them, walking through the cafeteria is a gauntlet.
  • It scurries to the beach through a gauntlet of mature birds, dodging frantically whenever one snaps at it, which happens a lot.
  • We got to jump on a light cycle and fight a gauntlet of enemies.
  • He promptly took command, ran a gauntlet of flame, bombs and gunfire and saved the vessel from destruction.
  • But it can be the velvet glove around the steel gauntlet.
  • After a final toast, the bridal convoy left to the sound of joyful gunfire and towards a gauntlet of roadblocks.
  • To survive for long, they'll have to make their way past a gauntlet of predators.
  • Watching the final gauntlet testing was particularly fun.
  • It will toughen up the candidates for the extremist gauntlet to come.
  • However, the government opened to talk of changing this system, no one took up the gauntlet.
British Dictionary definitions for gauntlet

gauntlet1

/ˈɡɔːntlɪt/
noun
1.
a medieval armoured leather glove
2.
a heavy glove with a long cuff
3.
take up the gauntlet, to accept a challenge
4.
throw down the gauntlet, to offer a challenge
Word Origin
C15: from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant glove, of Germanic origin

gauntlet2

/ˈɡɔːntlɪt/
noun
1.
a punishment in which the victim is forced to run between two rows of men who strike at him as he passes: formerly a military punishment
2.
run the gauntlet
  1. to suffer this punishment
  2. to endure an onslaught or ordeal, as of criticism
3.
a testing ordeal; trial
4.
a variant spelling of gantlet1 (sense 1)
Word Origin
C15: changed (through influence of gauntlet1) from earlier gantlope; see gantlet1
Word Origin and History for gauntlet
n.

"glove," early 15c., gantelet, from Old French gantelet (13c.) "gauntlet worn by a knight in armor," also a token of one's personality or person, and symbolizing a challenge, e.g. tendre son gantelet "throw down the gauntlet" (a sense found in English by 1540s); semi-diminutive or double-diminutive of gant "glove" (12c.), earlier wantos (7c.), from Frankish *wanth-, from Proto-Germanic *wantuz "glove" (cf. Middle Dutch want "mitten," East Frisian want, wante, Old Norse vöttr "glove," Danish vante "mitten"), which apparently is related to Old High German wintan, Old English windan "turn around, wind" (see wind (v.)).

The name must orig. have applied to a strip of cloth wrapped about the hand to protect it from sword-blows, a frequent practice in the Icelandic sagas. [Buck]
Italian guanto, Spanish guante are likewise ultimately from Germanic. The spelling with -u- was established from 1500s.

military punishment in which offender runs between rows of men who beat him in passing, 1660s, earlier gantlope (1640s), from Swedish gatlopp "passageway," from Old Swedish gata "lane" (see gate) + lopp "course," related to löpa "to run" (see leap). Probably borrowed by English soldiers during Thirty Years' War. Modern spelling, influenced by gauntlet (n.1), not fixed until mid-19c.

Idioms and Phrases with gauntlet

gauntlet

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