The Collaborative International Dictionary
Brank \Brank\, n. [Prov. of Celtic origin; cf. L. brance, brace,
the Gallic name of a particularly white kind of corn.]
Buckwheat. [Local, Eng.]
--Halliwell.
Brank \Brank\, Branks \Branks\, n. [Cf. Gael. brangus, brangas, a sort of pillory, Ir. brancas halter, or D. pranger fetter.]
A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
--Jamieson.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.
Brank \Brank\, v. i.
To hold up and toss the head; -- applied to horses as spurning the bit. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
To prance; to caper. [Scot.]
--Jamieson.
Wiktionary
Etymology 1 n. 1 (context usually in the plural English) A metal bridle formerly used as a torture device to hold the head of a scold and restrain the tongue 2 (context obsolete UK Scotland dialect usually in the plural English) A sort of bridle with wooden side pieces. vb. 1 To put someone in the branks 2 (context UK Scotland dialect English) To hold up and toss the head; applied to horses as spurning the bit. 3 (context Scotland English) To prance; to caper. Etymology 2
n. (context UK dialect English) buckwheat
Usage examples of "brank".
The brank was causing him such pain he had ignored the jabbing in his leg.
Charles felt around the brank, for the keyhole locking its back hinge into place.
Charles touched his face, where the deep scratches from the brank ached.
Jenks for trapping him in the bilboes and the brank, was not among them.
They leaned him over the trestle and opened wide the fitted form of the lunette into which the brank just fit.
Lithar and Brank watched them anxiously, opened the doors in readiness.
Dopey had been shot to death, Brank and the other had been taken alive.
Frane and Spain were upon the brank of open war when Philip arrived in England.
On top of the county procedure, so that if Branks should ever wonder or ask, we took up a collection.
I was going to sleep I decided I would look up Branks and tell him that Sam Taggart had been killed by Miguel Alconedo, now deceased.
Ken Branks, in yellow knit shirt, shapeless felt hat and racetrack tweeds, sat in my lounge and took cautious sips from the steaming mug of coffee and made small talk and watched me with clever eyes in a supremely ordinary face.
As I was going to sleep I decided I would look up Branks and tell him that Sam Taggart had been killed by Miguel Alconedo, now deceased.
Dumfries the morn gif the beast be to the fore, and the branks bide hale.
The young wizard was as naked as Alec, and a set of branks had been fastened around his head.
But the branks were locked securely in back and he had no tools to open it.