/ ˈgɔːntlət; NAmE / noun
1.
a metal glove worn as part of a suit of armour by soldiers in the Middle Ages
2.
a strong glove with a wide covering for the wrist, used for example when driving :
motorcyclists with leather gauntlets
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IDIOMS
- run the gauntlet
- take up the gauntlet
- throw down the gauntlet
••
WORD ORIGIN
senses 1 to 2 and take up / throw down the gauntlet. late Middle English : from Old French gantelet , diminutive of gant glove, of Germanic origin.
run the gauntlet. mid 17th cent.: alteration of gantlope (from Swedish gatlopp , from gata lane + lopp course) by association with gauntlet glove .