brank

== English == === Pronunciation === (without æ-raising) IPA(key): /ˈbɹæŋk/ (æ-raising) IPA(key): /ˈbɹeɪ̯ŋk/, /ˈbɹɛ̃ŋk/ Rhymes: -æŋk Hyphenation: brank === Etymology 1 === Compare Scottish Gaelic brangus, brangas (“a sort of pillory”), Irish brancas (“halter”), or Dutch pranger (“fetter”). ==== Noun ==== brank (plural branks) (usually in the plural) A metal bridle formerly used as a torture device to hold the head of a scold and restrain the tongue. (obsolete, UK, Scotland, dialect) A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces. ==== Verb ==== brank (third-person singular simple present branks, present participle branking, simple past and past participle branked) To put someone in the branks. (UK, Scotland, dialect) To hold up and toss the head; applied to horses as spurning the bit. (Scotland) To prance; to caper. ===== Derived terms ===== === Etymology 2 === Probably of Celtic origin; compare Latin brance, brace, the Gallic name of a particularly white kind of corn. ==== Noun ==== brank (uncountable) (UK, dialect) Buckwheat. === References === “brank”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. === Anagrams === Bankr., bankr.