shank
pronunciation
How to pronounce shank in British English:
UK [ʃæŋk]
How to pronounce shank in American English:
US [ʃæŋk]
-
- Noun:
- a cut of meat (beef or veal or mutton or lamb) from the upper part of the leg
- the part of the human leg between the knee and the ankle
- cylinder forming a long narrow part of something
- cylinder forming the part of a bolt between the thread and the head
- cylinder forming the part of a bit by which it is held in the drill
- the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide part of the sole
- lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals
- a poor golf stroke in which the heel of the club hits the ball
-
- Verb:
- hit (a golf ball) with the heel of a club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction
Word Origin
- shank
- shank: [OE] Shank originally meant ‘leg’, or more specifically ‘shin’ (Edward I of England was nicknamed ‘Longshanks’ on account of his long legs). The word goes back to a prehistoric West Germanic *skangkan, which also produced Dutch schenk ‘leg-bone’ and is closely related to German schinken ‘ham’. Its ultimate origins are not known, although it has been suggested that it arose from the notion of ‘crookedness’ or ‘lameness’ (in which case German hinken ‘limp’ may be related). The main modern meaning of shank, ‘stem, shaft’, emerged in the 16th century.
- shank (v.)
- 1927, in golf, "to strike (the ball) with the heel of the club," from shank (n.). Related: Shanked; shanking. Earlier as "to take to one's legs" (1774, Scottish); "to send off without ceremony" (1816).
- shank (n.)
- Old English sceanca "leg, shank, shinbone," specifically, the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle, from Proto-Germanic *skankon- (cognates: Middle Low German schenke, German schenkel "shank, leg"), perhaps literally "that which bends," from PIE root *skeng- "crooked" (cognates: Old Norse skakkr "wry, distorted," Greek skazein "to limp"). Shank's mare "one's own legs as a means of transportation" is attested from 1774 (shanks-naig).
Example
- 1. Braised lamb shank with couscous and dried fruit .
- 2. This design minimizes shank bending .
- 3. Case 4600 vibra shank field cultivator manual .
- 4. Extra-long morse taper shank twist drills .
- 5. Carbide welded straight shank twist drill .