brank
Americanverb (used without object)
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to hold up and toss the head, as a horse when spurning the bit or prancing.
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to bridle; restrain.
Etymology
Origin of brank
1500–50; brank ( def. 1 ) of uncertain origin; possibly related to German prangen “to adorn oneself, brag”; compare Middle High German brangen, brankieren; possibly 1550-1600; brank ( def. 2 ) of uncertain origin; probably a back formation from Scots branks “a bridle for restraining a scold”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Chesterfield brank," says Mr. Llewellyn Jewitt, "is a remarkably good example, and has the additional interest of bearing a date.
From Bygone Punishments by Andrews, William
The brank was an instrument employed by our forefathers for punishing scolds.
From Bygone Punishments by Andrews, William
Mr. W. E. A. Axon informs us that his father remembers the brank being used at Manchester at the commencement of the present century.
From Bygone Punishments by Andrews, William
No specimens of the "brank" are known to exist in Ireland or Wales.
From Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles by Tuke, Daniel Hack
This brank is depicted in the Reliquary for October, 1860.
From Curious Punishments of Bygone Days by Earle, Alice Morse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
