noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈmæn.ɪˌfɝ/
/ˈmæn.ə-/
/-fɛɚ/
1
noun
Meaning 1
A large gauntlet worn over the bridle hand during jousting tournaments.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Manifer (mainfer, mainfere) ("gauntlet") and manefaire (mainfaire) ("horse's neck armor") are often taken to have originally been one word, attested in Middle English as mayndefer, maynfer, and maynefere in lists of armor used by men and their horses. Harold Dillon, 17th Viscount Dillon and Charles John ffoulkes take the meaning of "gauntlet" to be the original, from French main de fer (literally “hand of iron”); see manefaire (“horse's neck armor”) for more on that meaning.