gauntlet

also n.

1. A protective glove worn with medieval armor.
2. A protective glove with a flared cuff, used in manual labor, in certain sports, and for driving.
3. A challenge: throw down the gauntlet; take up the gauntlet.
4. A dress glove cuffed above the wrist.

[Middle English, from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant, glove, from Frankish *want.]

gaunt·let² also gant·let (gônt'lĭt, gänt'-)
n.

1. 1. A form of punishment or torture in which people armed with sticks or other weapons arrange themselves in two lines facing each other and beat the person forced to run between them.
   2. The lines of people so arranged.
2. An onslaught or attack from all sides: “The hostages . . . ran the gauntlet of insult on their way to the airport” (Harper's).
3. A severe trial; an ordeal.

[Alteration (influenced by GAUNTLET¹) of gantlope, from Swedish gatlopp : gata, lane (from Old Norse) + lopp, course, running (from Middle Low German lōp).]

WORD HISTORY   The spelling gauntlet is acceptable for both gauntlet meaning “glove” or “challenge” and gauntlet meaning “a form of punishment in which lines of men beat a person forced to run between them”; but this has not always been the case. The story of the gauntlet used in to throw down the gauntlet is linguistically unexciting: it comes from the Old French word gantelet, a diminutive of gant, “glove.” From the time of its appearance in Middle English (in a work composed in 1449), the word has been spelled with an au as well as an a, still a possible spelling. But the gauntlet used in to run the gauntlet is an alteration of the earlier English form gantlope, which came from the Swedish word gatlopp, a compound of gata, “lane,” and lopp, “course.” The earliest recorded form of the English word, found in 1646, is gantelope, showing that alteration of the Swedish word had already occurred. The English word was then influenced by the spelling of the word gauntlet, “glove,” and in 1676 we find the first recorded instance of the spelling gauntlet for this word, although gantelope is found as late as 1836. From then on spellings with au and a are both found, but the au seems to have won out.

IN BRIEF: A protective glove worn with armor. Also: A double line of armed people that strikes a person that runs between.

The prisoners had to run a gauntlet as part of their punishment.

Tutor's tip: Note: A "gantlet" is a section of overlapping railroad tracks. A "gauntlet" is either a kind of heavy glove or a dangerous path one runs while subject to abuse by others.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a glove of armored leather; protects the hand
  Synonym: metal glove

Meaning #2: a glove with long sleeve
  Synonym: gauntlets

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - handske, motorhandske, kørehandske, kravehandske, stridshandske

idioms:

• pick up the gauntlet    tage handsken op
• take up the gauntlet    tage handsken op
• throw down the gauntlet    kaste handsken

2.
n. - prøvelse

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    løbe spidsrod

Nederlands (Dutch)
pantser-/ kaphandschoen, kap, spitsroede een uitdaging aanvaarden iemand uitdagen

Français (French)
1.
n. - gant à crispin, gantelet

idioms:

• pick up the gauntlet    (fig) relever le défi
• take up the gauntlet    (fig) relever le défi
• throw down the gauntlet    lancer un défi

2.
n. - ouverture (manche d'une chemise)

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    s'exposer au feu de (la critique, du danger)

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Panzerhandschuh, Stulpenhandschuh

idioms:

• pick up the gauntlet    den Fehdehandschuh aufnehmen
• take up the gauntlet    den Fehdehandschuh aufnehmen
• throw down the gauntlet    den Fehdehandschuh hinwerfen, herausfordern

2.
n. - Spießrutenlaufen, Gassenlaufen

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    Spießruten laufen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - γάντι πανοπλίας

idioms:

• pick up the gauntlet    δέχομαι να αναμετρηθώ
• run the gauntlet    βάλλομαι πανταχόθεν, δέχομαι γενική επίθεση
• take up the gauntlet    δέχομαι να αναμετρηθώ
• throw down the gauntlet    προκαλώ σε αναμέτρηση, ρίχνω το γάντι

Italiano (Italian)
guanto

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    essere sottoposto a severa critica, affrontare il problema
• take/pick up the gauntlet    accettare la sfida
• throw down the gauntlet    gettare il guanto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - manopla (f), luva (f) forte e rústica, punho (m) largo de luva, castigo (m) para soldados e marinheiros, de passar pelas varas (Mil.)

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    sofrer punição de passar pelas varas, sofrer severas críticas
• take/pick up the gauntlet    aceitar desafio
• throw down the gauntlet    desafiar

Русский (Russian)
рукавица

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    проходить сквозь строй
• take/pick up the gauntlet    принимать вызов
• throw down the gauntlet    бросать вызов

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - guantelete, guante

idioms:

• pick up the gauntlet    recoger el guante
• take up the gauntlet    aceptar un desafío
• throw down the gauntlet    arrojar el guante

2.
n. - baquetas

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    correr baquetas (antiguo castigo militar)

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sporthandske, järnhandske

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 金属护手, 臂铠, 保护手套, 长手套

idioms:

• pick up the gauntlet    应战, 护卫
• run the gauntlet    受夹道鞭打, 受严厉批评
• take up the gauntlet    应战, 护卫
• throw down the gauntlet    挑战

2. 夹道鞭笞的刑罚, 交叉射击, 交叉火网

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 夾道鞭笞的刑罰, 交叉射擊, 交叉火網

2.
n. - 金屬護手, 臂鎧, 保護手套, 長手套

idioms:

• pick up the gauntlet    應戰, 護衛
• run the gauntlet    受夾道鞭打, 受嚴厲批評
• take up the gauntlet    應戰, 護衛
• throw down the gauntlet    挑戰

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 긴 장갑

idioms:

• take up the gauntlet    도전에 응하다
• throw down the gauntlet    도전하다

2.
n. - 태형

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    위험을 겪다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - こて, 長手袋

idioms:

• run the gauntlet    むち打ち刑をうける, 方々から批評される
• take/pick up the gauntlet    挑戦に応ずる, 抵抗の姿勢を示す

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قفاز يقبل التحدي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮כפפה ארוכה, כפפה משוריינת, חלק הכפפה המכסה את פרק-היד‬
n. - ‮היות מותקף ע"י ביקורת קשה, הליכה בין שתי שורות אנשים וספיגת מכות מהם‬

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xbox gauntlet