*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of brank

Compare Scottish Gaelic brangus, brangas (“a sort of pillory”), Irish brancas (“halter”), or Dutch pranger (“fetter”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A metal bridle formerly used as a torture device to hold the head of a scold and restrain the tongue. · A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces.

verb

To put someone in the branks. · To hold up and toss the head; applied to horses as spurning the bit. · To prance; to caper.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Compare Scottish Gaelic brangus, brangas (“a sort of pillory”), Irish brancas (“halter”), or Dutch pranger (“fetter”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "brangus,brangas",
        "3": "",
        "4": "a sort of pillory"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic brangus, brangas (“a sort of pillory”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "brancas",
        "3": "",
        "4": "halter"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish brancas (“halter”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "pranger",
        "3": "",
        "4": "fetter"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch pranger (“fetter”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "brangus",
      "brangus#Scottish_Gaelic"
    ],
    [
      "brangas",
      "brangas#Scottish_Gaelic"
    ],
    [
      "brancas",
      "brancas#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "pranger",
      "pranger#Dutch"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A metal bridle formerly used as a torture device to hold the head of a scold and restrain the tongue.",
        "A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural-normally",
        "Scotland",
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "9423c563568fe03bb238d3e9432addfd6ffe0a448c90365ba1dc5237b77c5ee4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8073673a2226d990dc79770641907c07c9b74d0ec833cf905d47b807c13c226d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1042822
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To put someone in the branks.",
        "To hold up and toss the head; applied to horses as spurning the bit.",
        "To prance; to caper."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "UK",
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "recordId": "b577582de9ba295527730b73d8b516bd8bad9e3f1dbf078c0465a48676065287",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a3e20571f3acfce7690e517a1bc133898d4c638dda2b2a4a6b4bfdd89311f36c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1042823
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Buckwheat.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Probably of Celtic origin; compare Latin brance, brace, the Gallic name of a particularly white kind of corn.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "lena",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "brance"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin brance"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "brance",
      "brance#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "brace",
      "brace#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Buckwheat."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "d97374412d1c16d3bf71c5f9ac587adfc15142e57e642897b5c9c5b2f930fc39",
      "rawRecordSha256": "49ab1e6d0148ef7b93914cc0f9381a80eab457b2e1000b5de29d3f5c348609c4",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1042824
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for brank →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YnJhbms