Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
brank [brangk] ExamplesWord Origin verb (used without object)
- to hold up and toss the head, as a horse when spurning the bit or prancing.
- to bridle; restrain.
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” Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for brank Historical Examples of brank
We are indebted to Mr. Alfred Burton for a drawing of the Macclesfield brank.
William Andrews
Kirkham had its brank for scolds, in addition to a ducking-stool.
William Andrews
At the north country town of Morpeth a brank is still preserved.
William Andrews
The brank was put over the head, and was fastened with a padlock.
Edmund Fillingham King
No specimens of the “brank” are known to exist in Ireland or Wales.
Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles
Daniel Hack Tuke
