English Explanatory Dictionary

shank

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
  2. Meat from that part of an animal.
  3. A redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs.
  4. A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem.
  5. The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck.
  6. The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point.
  7. A protruding part of an object, by which it is or can be attached.
  8. 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.
  9. A poorly played golf shot in which the ball is struck by the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.
  10. The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel.
  11. A metal strip strengthening the waists of shoes. (Also shankpiece.)
  12. An improvised stabbing weapon, originally in prison, possibly from the strips of metal in shoes.
verb
  1. To travel on foot.
  2. To stab, especially with an improvised blade.
  3. To remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants.
  4. To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft.
  5. To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.
  6. To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off.
  7. To provide (a button) with a shank (loop forming an eye).
  8. To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it.
adj
  1. Bad.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈʃæŋk/ [ˈʃʰæŋk] en-us-shank.ogg /ˈʃeɪ̯ŋk/ [ˈʃʰeɪ̯ŋk] /ˈʃɛ̃ŋk/ [ˈʃʰɛ̃ŋk]

Word forms

shank shanks shanking shanked shanker shankest

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English schanke, from Old English sċanca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (compare West Frisian skonk, Dutch schenkel, Low German Schanke, German Schenkel (“shank, leg”), Danish skank, Norwegian skank, Swedish skänkel), from *skankaz (compare Old Norse skakkr (“wry, crooked”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (compare Middle Irish scingim (“I spring”), Ancient Greek σκάζω (skázō, “to limp”).

Synonyms

shiv pedestrianize walk ambulate raik jab chef chib ching chive enthrill foin gore gride job juke kebab knifecrime lancinate pigstick pink poach run through shank spear speet splash stab stick stob stog thrust yerk debag depants

Related words

yank shank it thin fat toe

Derived words

bit shank catshank dogshank foreshank greenshank ham shank Longshanks midshank redshank shankbone shank-iron shankless shank-nag shank-painter shanks' mare shanks' nag shanks' pony shank-weary sheepshank spindleshanks spotshank toughshank umbroshank velvet shank
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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