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Added 9 October 2026

gauntlet

/ˈɡɔːnt.lət/ noun

Latin root: wantus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gauntlet at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To offer or accept a challenge.
threw down the gauntlet
A glove of armored leather; protects the hand.
A glove with long sleeve.

Origin

From Middle English gauntelett, gantlett, a borrowing from Old French gantelet (“gauntlet worn by a knight in armor, a token of one's personality or person, and symbolizing a challenge”), diminutive of gant (“glove”), a borrowing from Frankish *want (“glove; mitten”) and reinforced by Medieval Latin wantus (“glove”) itself borrowed from the former, from Proto-Germanic *wantuz (“glove; mitten”). Cognate with Dutch want (“mitten; shroud”), German Low German Want (“shroud”), Danish vante (“mitten”), Swedish vante (“glove; mitten”), Faroese vøttur (“glove; mitten”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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