Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “gauntlet” come from?

Gauntlet comes from Middle English gauntelett, from Old French gantelet, a diminutive of gant, from Old French guant, ultimately from Proto-Germanic wantuz and Proto-Indo-European wendʰ-.

gauntlet (English): Protective armor for the hands, formerly thrown...

Definitions

  1. Protective armor for the hands, formerly thrown...

Ancestry of “gauntlet”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishgauntelett—
2Old Frenchganteletgauntlet
3Old French-eletdiminutive suffix
4Old French-elSuffix that usually denotes a masculine noun
5Latin-ellusAlternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine...
6Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
7Proto-Italic-olos—
8Proto-Italic-elos—
9Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “gauntlet”

  • gauntleted
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →