brank

[ brangk ]

/ bræŋk /

Save This Word!

verb (used without object)

to hold up and toss the head, as a horse when spurning the bit or prancing.

to bridle; restrain.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of brank

1500–50; (def. 1) of uncertain origin; possibly related to German prangen “to adorn oneself, brag”; compare Middle High German brangen, brankieren; possibly 1550-1600; (def. 2) of uncertain origin; probably a back formation from Scots branks “a bridle for restraining a scold”

Words nearby brank

brandy snifter, Brandywine, Branford, brangle, Brangus, brank, branks, branle, brannigan, branny, Branson

How to use brank in a sentence

Brand and brank have passed away, the stocks and pillory no longer grace our village greens.
Curious Punishments of Bygone Days|Alice Morse Earle
The brank, or imprisonment, or the pillory, was the sentence usually pronounced on these rebellious wives.
Bygone Church Life in Scotland|Various
Staffordshire supplies several notable examples of the brank.
Bygone Punishments|William Andrews
We find, in the same county, traces of the brank at Holme, in the Forest of Rossendale.
Bygone Punishments|William Andrews

These cheeks correspond to the two parallel levers called the "branches" of a bridle, and brank is the Norman branque, branch.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)|Ernest Weekley