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brank

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brank

  [brangk]
Use brank in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to hold up and toss the head, as a horse when spurning the bit or prancing.
2. to bridle; restrain.
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branks

  [brangks]
–noun (used with a plural verb)
Sometimes, brank. a device consisting of a headpiece with a flat, iron bit to restrain the tongue, formerly used to punish scolds.
Origin:
1585–95; perh. to be identified with ME bernak bridle, snaffle; see barnacle 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To brank
brank   (brāngk)   
n.  A device consisting of a metal frame for the head and a bit to restrain the tongue, formerly used to punish scolds. Usually used in the plural.

[Possibly from Dutch branken, legs (of a compass, scissors, etc.), pl. of branke, branch, from Late Latin branca, paw; see branch.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

branks 
1595, of unknown origin, perhaps from North Sea Gmc. An instrument of punishment for women, originally Scottish, it was a kind of iron cage for the head with a metal bit attached to still the tongue.
"Paide for caring a woman throughe the towne for skoulding, with branks, 4d. ["Municipal Accounts of Newcastle," 1595]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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