glove [OE] Old English glōf is Germanic in origin. From the Middle Ages gloves carried strong social symbolism. Gloves could be used to challenge someone to combat (see gauntlet) or to confer office. Fine-quality gloves were a sign of status and often given as presents. To fit like a glove and hand in glove both date from the 18th century although the latter was in existence earlier as hand and glove. The expression to take the gloves off meaning ‘to use no mercy’ dates from the 1920s, although ‘to handle without gloves’—the opposite of with kid gloves (the softest kind)—dates from the early 19th century. The maxim to rule with an iron fist or hand in a velvet glove has been ascribed to several rulers including Napoleon. It is recorded in English from 1850.