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gauntlet

1

[ gawnt-lit, gahnt- ]

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.


gauntlet

2

[ gawnt-lit, gahnt- ]

noun

  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.

verb (used with object)

gauntlet

1

/ ˈɡɔːԳٱɪ /

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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

gauntlet

2

/ ˈɡɔːԳٱɪ /

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 gantlet 1
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other yvlog Forms

  • ܲԳl· adjective
  • un·ܲԳl· adjective
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of gauntlet1

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English gauntelet, gauntlet, from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant “glove,” from Germanic want- (unrecorded); compare Old Norse ǫٳٰ

Origin of gauntlet2

First recorded in 1670–80; alteration of gantlope
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of gauntlet1

C15: from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant glove, of Germanic origin

Origin of gauntlet2

C15: changed (through influence of gauntlet 1) from earlier gantlope; see gantlet 1
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Idioms and Phrases

  1. run the gauntlet, to suffer severe criticism or tribulation.
  2. take up the gauntlet / glove,
    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.
  3. throw down the gauntlet / glove,
    1. to challenge.
    2. to defy.

More idioms and phrases containing gauntlet

see run the gauntlet ; throw down the gauntlet .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

As you walk up from the station, through Massy's gauntlet of squat apartment blocks, you pass youngsters wearing kits from around the world - Arsenal, Juventus and Real Madrid.

From

But both had approached their brutal Big Ten slates in need of a statement, some kind of sign that showed their new teams could survive the gauntlet to come.

From

If anyone thought the Kings were hoping to stare across the ice, look the Oilers in the eyes and throw down the gauntlet, he wasn’t among them.

From

Each year, they walk from the Stoop, across a bridge crossing the Chertsey Road, through a gauntlet of home fans and into Twickenham.

From

The PM said the plan would "land on desks around Whitehall with the heavy thud of a gauntlet being thrown down".

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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