shank
/ˈʃeɪ̯ŋk/ noun, verb, adjective, proper noun
Forms shanks shanking shanked shanker shankest
- noun The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
- noun Meat from that part of an animal.
- noun (ornithology, colloquial) A redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs.
- noun A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem.
- noun The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck.
- noun The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point.
- noun A protruding part of an object, by which it is or can be attached. “This twist drill has a reduced shank so that it can be used even in a small chuck.”
- noun The metal part on a curb bit that falls below the mouthpiece, which length controls the severity of the leverage action of the bit, and to which the reins of the bridle are attached.
- verb (archaic, Ulster) To travel on foot.
- verb (slang) To stab, especially with an improvised blade.
- verb (slang) To remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants.
- verb (transitive, golf) To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.
- verb (transitive, chiefly tennis, soccer, gridiron football) To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.
- verb (intransitive) To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off.
- verb (transitive, sewing) To provide (a button) with a shank (loop forming an eye).
- verb (shoemaking) To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it.
- adjective (slang) Bad.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
shiv pedestrianize walk ambulate navigate raik jab chef chib ching chive enthrill foin gore gride job juke kebab knifecrime lancinate stem waist cannon
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English sceonke, schank, schanke, shanke, schonke, sconke, sschanke, from Old English sċanca, sċeanca, sċeonca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (“shank; thigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (“to hobble, limp; to tilt”).
Cognate with West Frisian skonk (“leg”), Dutch schenkel (“shank”), German and Luxembourgish Schenkel (“thigh”), Danish skank (“shank; leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk skank, skonk (“thigh; foot”), Swedish skank, skånk (“leg”); also Cornish kamm (“pace, step”), Irish céim (“pace, step”), Manx keim (“degree, pace, stage, step”), Scottish Gaelic ceum (“pace, step”), Welsh cam (“pace, step”), Greek σκάω (skáo), σκάζω (skázo, “to burst, explode”), Bulgarian and Macedonian шега́ (šegá, “jest, joke; prank”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Chank.
- noun The part of the leg from the knee to the foot; the shin; the shin bone; also, the whole leg. His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank.
- noun Hence, that part of an instrument, tool, or other thing, which connects the acting part with a handle or other part, by which it is held or moved. Specifically: (a) That part of a key which is between the bow and the part which enters the wards of the lock.
- verb To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; --usually followed by off. Darwin.
Etymology [OE. shanke, schanke, schonke, AS. scanca, sceanca, sconca, sceonca; akin to D. schonk a bone, G. schenkel thigh, shank, schinken ham, OHG. scincha shank, Dan. & Sw. skank. sq. root161. Cf. Skink, v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “shank”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details