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
- Protective armor for the hands, formerly thrown...
Ancestry of “gauntlet”, step by step
gauntlet traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English gauntelett
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | gauntelett | — |
| 2 | Old French | gantelet | gauntlet |
| 3 | Old French | -elet | diminutive suffix |
| 4 | Old French | -el | Suffix that usually denotes a masculine noun |
| 5 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
via English gantlope
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gantlope | The military punishment known as running the... |
| 2 | Swedish | gatlopp | passageway |
| 3 | Swedish | lopp | a race (running competition or (in an extended sense) other speed competition, like in English) |
| 4 | Swedish | löpa | to run along, stretch; to run, to move quickly... |
| 5 | Old Swedish | løpa | to run |
| 6 | Old Norse | hlaupa | to leap, jump, spring |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hlaupaną | to jump forward, to leap |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | klaup- | — |