Glove

A glove is a hand covering with separate slots or openings for each finger and the thumb. Its purpose is to shield the hand from cold, heat, friction, chemicals, or disease, or to protect objects the hand should not touch. Gloves are made from materials like cloth, wool, leather, rubber, latex, neoprene, silk, or metal mail. Kevlar gloves guard against cuts. Gloves and gauntlets are essential parts of pressure suits and spacesuits. Disposable gloves made of latex, nitrile, or vinyl are used by healthcare workers for hygiene and contamination control. Police wear them at crime scenes to avoid destroying evidence, while criminals often wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints—though the gloves themselves can leave unique prints. Fingerless gloves, with short or no finger coverings, are used when dexterity is needed, such as by smokers, organists, cyclists, or guitarists in cold weather. A hybrid called a convertible mitten or "glitten" has open-ended sheaths for four fingers plus a flap that can be lifted and folded back to expose the fingers, often secured with a fastener.

Gloves are very old, appearing in an ancient Egyptian tomb from the 5th dynasty. In Homer's *The Odyssey*, Laërtes is said to wear gloves to avoid brambles, though some translations say he pulled his sleeves over his hands. Herodotus, around 440 BC, tells of Leotychides being caught with a glove full of silver as a bribe. Romans also used gloves; Pliny the Younger noted his uncle’s shorthand writer wore gloves in winter. During the Middle Ages, gauntlets of leather or metal armor were key for soldiers, but firearms made hand-to-hand combat rare, ending their need. By the 13th century, women wore gloves as fashion, made of linen or silk, sometimes elbow-length. Sumptuary laws later banned fancy gloves in Bologna (1294) and perfumed ones in Rome (1560). A Paris glovers’ guild existed from the 13th century, making gloves from skin or fur. In England, glovers joined the Dubbers or Bookbinders Guild until forming their own under Elizabeth I, incorporated in 1613. Gloves reached their peak in the 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I wore richly embroidered, jeweled gloves and used them to draw attention to her hands. In Paris, glovers became perfumers, scenting leather gloves with oils, musk, ambergris, and civet, recognized by royal decree in 1656. Knitted glove makers, who used silk or wool, were in a separate guild from the 14th century; apprenticeship lasted five years, and defective work was burned. In the 17th century, gloves made from soft chicken skin became fashionable, followed by "limericks" from the skin of unborn calves. Embroidered and jeweled gloves were part of royal insignia: Henry II of England was buried with gloves in 1189, and gloves were found on King John and King Edward I when their tombs were opened. Pontifical gloves, used by the pope, cardinals, and bishops at mass, date from around the 10th century, possibly to keep hands clean for holy rites or as part of Carolingian bishops’ pomp.