Protective coverings for hands, typically with separate sections for each finger.
From Old English 'glof', related to Old Norse 'glofi'. The word originally may have meant 'palm of the hand', deriving from a root meaning 'hollow of the hand' that also gives us 'clove' (as in garlic clove).
Medieval knights' gauntlets were so important that 'throwing down the gauntlet' became a formal way to issue a challenge to combat. Interestingly, 'kid gloves' originally meant gloves made from young goat leather, prized for their softness - hence 'handling with kid gloves' for delicate treatment.
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