brank

American  

[brangk] / bræŋk /

verb (used without object)

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

2. 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

Slander was met with the use of the brank, the pillory, compulsory shaving of the head, or, in extreme cases, with banishment from the district.

From Bygone Church Life in Scotland by Various

It will be noted that the brank is universally spoken of as a punishment for women; but men also were sentenced to wear it—paupers, blasphemers, railers.

From Curious Punishments of Bygone Days by Earle, Alice Morse

No historical particulars are known respecting this grotesque brank.

From Bygone Punishments by Andrews, William

It is pleasing to record the fact that there is only trace of one brank belonging to Derbyshire—a circumstance which speaks well for its men and women.

From Bygone Punishments by Andrews, William

The Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, the Scottish National Museum of Antiquities at Edinburgh, the towns of Lichfield, Shrewsbury, Leicester and Chester have examples of the brank.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various