gaunt adj
1 bony and emaciated in appearance
2 (of places) bleak or desolate
(C15: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian dialect gand tall lean person)
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gauntly adv
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gauntness n
John of Gaunt n Duke of Lancaster. 1340--99, son of Edward III: virtual ruler of England during the last years of his father's reign and during Richard II's minority
(Gaunt, variant of Ghent, where he was born)