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Definition of Branks
1. Noun. a punishment device, especially for scolding women, consisting of a cage to enclose the head, with a metal gag for the mouth ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Branks
1. brank [n] - See also: brank
Medical Definition of Branks
1. 1. A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces. 2. A scolding bridle, an instrument formerly used for correcting scolding women. It was an iron frame surrounding the head and having a triangular piece entering the mouth of the scold. Origin: Cf. Gael. Brangus, brangas, a sort of pillory, Ir. Brancas halter, or D. Pranger fetter. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Branks
Literary usage of Branks
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain: Chiefly by John Brand, Henry Ellis (1901)
"branks, ANOTHER PUNISHMENT FOR SCOLDING WOMEN. ... Dr. Plott, in a copper-plate
annexed, gives a representation of a pair of branks. ..."
2. A Complete Word and Phrase Concordance to the Poems and Songs of Robert by J. B. Reid (1889)
"As cheeks o' branks. Death and Dr. Hornbook. 7. My worthy friend, ne'er grudge
an' carp, Tho' Fortune use you hard an' sharp ; Sharp shivers thro' the ..."
3. Domestic Annals of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution by Robert Chambers (1858)
"... having slandered Bailie Thomas Hunter, by saying ' he had in his house ane
false The branks. stoup [measure],' which was found not to be true, ..."
4. Curious Punishments of Bygone Days by Alice Morse Earle (1896)
"VIII branks AND GAGS The brank or scold's bridle was unknown in America in its
English shape: though from colonial records we learn that scolding women were ..."
5. The English Illustrated Magazine (1905)
"It has been said that the use of the branks was never a legal form of punishment
in England. Nevertheless, in the Encyclopaedia of the Laws of England under ..."
6. Aberdour and Inchcolme: Being Historical Notices of the Parish and Monastery by William Ross (1885)
"... branks—the stocks—sackcloth and the repenting- stool—fining—' Drink and shake
hands '—Usages connected with baptisms and marriages—The system of ..."
7. The History of Fettercairn: A Parish in the County of Kincardine by Archibald Cowie Cameron (1899)
"The jougs consisted of an iron collar placed round the neck of the offender, with
another part called the branks—a sort of cage over the head with a piece ..."
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