brank
[ brangk ]
verb (used without object)
to hold up and toss the head, as a horse when spurning the bit or prancing.
to bridle; restrain.
Origin of brank
11500–50; (def. 1) of uncertain origin; possibly related to German prangen “to adorn oneself, brag”; compare Middle High German brangen, brankieren; possibly 1550-1600; (def. 2) of uncertain origin; probably a back formation from Scots branks “a bridle for restraining a scold”
Words Nearby brank
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use brank in a sentence
Brand and brank have passed away, the stocks and pillory no longer grace our village greens.
Curious Punishments of Bygone Days | Alice Morse EarleThe brank, or imprisonment, or the pillory, was the sentence usually pronounced on these rebellious wives.
Bygone Church Life in Scotland | VariousStaffordshire supplies several notable examples of the brank.
Bygone Punishments | William AndrewsWe find, in the same county, traces of the brank at Holme, in the Forest of Rossendale.
Bygone Punishments | William AndrewsThese cheeks correspond to the two parallel levers called the "branches" of a bridle, and brank is the Norman branque, branch.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.) | Ernest Weekley
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