gaunt·let

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.
4.
take up the gauntlet,
a.
to accept a challenge to fight: He was always willing to take up the gauntlet for a good cause.
b.
to show one's defiance.
Also, take up the glove.
5.
throw down the gauntlet,
a.
to challenge.
b.
to defy.
Also, throw down the glove.
00:10
Gauntlet is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English gantelet < Middle French, diminutive of gant glove < Germanic *want-; compare Old Norse vǫttr

gaunt·let·ed, adjective
un·gaunt·let·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

gaunt·let

2 [gawnt-lit, gahnt-]
noun Also, gantlet (for defs 1, 2, 4).
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.
5.
gantlet1 ( def 1 ).
verb (used with object)
6.
gantlet1 ( def 3 ).
7.
run the gauntlet, to suffer severe criticism or tribulation.

Origin:
1670–80; alteration of gantlope

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To gauntlet
Collins
World English Dictionary
gauntlet or gantlet1 (ˈɡɔːntlɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
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
 
[C15: from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant glove, of Germanic origin]
 
gantlet or gantlet1
 
n
 
[C15: from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant glove, of Germanic origin]

gauntlet2 (ˈɡɔːntlɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
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
 a.  to suffer this punishment
 b.  to endure an onslaught or ordeal, as of criticism
3.  a testing ordeal; trial
4.  a variant spelling of gantlet
 
[C15: changed (through influence of gauntlet1) from earlier gantlope; see gantlet1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gauntlet
"glove," c.1420, from M.Fr. gantelet (13c.), semi-dim. of gant "glove" (12c.), earlier wantos (7c.), from Frank. *want-, from P.Gmc. *wantuz "glove" (cf. M.Du. want "mitten," E.Fris. want, wante, O.N. vöttr "glove," Dan. vante "mitten"), which apparently is related to O.H.G. wintan, O.E. windan
"turn around, wind" (see wind (v.)).
"The name must orig. have applied to a strip of cloth wrapped about the hand to protect it from sword-blows, a frequent practice in the Icelandic sagas." [Buck]
It. guanto, Sp. guante are likewise ult. from Gmc.

gauntlet
"military punishment," 1661, earlier gantlope (1646), from Sw. gatlopp "passageway," from O.Sw. gata "lane" + lopp "course," related to löpa "to run." Probably borrowed by Eng. soldiers during Thirty Years' War.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

gauntlet

see run the gauntlet; throw down the gauntlet.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
However, the government opened to talk of changing this system, no one took up
  the gauntlet.
It scurries to the beach through a gauntlet of mature birds, dodging
  frantically whenever one snaps at it, which happens a lot.
Those that are chosen must then run the gauntlet of libidinous producers, hosts
  and guests.
To survive for long, they'll have to make their way past a gauntlet of
  predators.
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