gantlet
UK[ˈɡɔːntlət]US[ˈɡæntlət]
n
A former punishment in which the offender ran between two lines of men who struck him with sticks or other weapons.
n
A severe ordeal, test, or series of difficulties.
Etymology
The word 'gantlet' originates from the Swedish 'gatlopp', a compound of 'gata' (lane, road) and 'lopp' (course, running). It entered English in the 17th century via the military practices of the Thirty Years' War, initially referring specifically to the brutal punishment where a victim ran between two lines of assailants. Through semantic extension, its meaning broadened metaphorically to describe any punishing series of difficulties or a severe ordeal, capturing the sense of being assaulted from all sides. The alternate spelling 'gauntlet' is now more common and has become conflated with a different word for a glove, but 'gantlet' preserves the original form and specific historical meaning.
Analysis
This word is a loanword from Swedish, entering English as a simplex form. Its spelling and form have been anglicized as a single unit.
Examples
The disgraced soldier was forced to run the gantlet as a form of military punishment.
New recruits must endure a gantlet of rigorous physical and mental tests.
The legislation faced a gantlet of criticism and amendments before it was finally passed.