branks
Sometimes brank . a device consisting of a headpiece with a flat, iron bit to restrain the tongue, formerly used to punish scolds.
Origin of branks
1Words Nearby branks
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use branks in a sentence
If that did not stop the rancour of their tongues he tried the effect of an instrument called the "branks."
The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer | Richard ClyntonI'll be in Dumfries the morn gif the beast be to the fore, and the branks bide hale.
The Letters of Robert Burns | Robert BurnsAn uncomfortable bridle which used to be employed to silence scolds was called the branks.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.) | Ernest WeekleyThe branks was a species of iron mask, with a gag so contrived as to enter the mouth and forcibly hold down the unruly member.
The Chronicles of Newgate, vol. 1/2 | Arthur GriffithsThe brutality of the stronger and governing to the weaker and subject sex was not limited to the ducking-stool and branks.
The Chronicles of Newgate, vol. 1/2 | Arthur Griffiths
British Dictionary definitions for branks
/ (bræŋks) /
(formerly) an iron bridle used to restrain scolding women
Origin of branks
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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