ankle

A2 Topic:The Human Body

Also spelled ancle and ancles

US /ˈæŋ.k(ə)l/ See IPA manual

Freq #5765

Meanings

1

noun
The joint that connects the foot to the leg.

She twisted her ankle while running on the rocky path.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms ankles

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

ankle bracelet
a decorative chain or band worn around the ankle

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Ankle has been used since Old English and denotes the bend or joint in the leg. It goes back to the same Indo-European root as angle, with the shared idea of a bend or corner.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng- Proto-Germanic *-ulaz Proto-Germanic *ankulaz Proto-West Germanic *ankul Old English *ancol Middle English ancle English ankle From Middle English ankel, ancle, ankyll, from Old English ancol (compare anclēow (“ankle”) > Modern English anclef, ancliff, ancley), from Proto-West Germanic *ankul, from Proto-Germanic *ankulaz (“ankle”); akin to Icelandic ökkla, ökli, Danish and Swedish ankel, Dutch enklaauw, enkel, German Enkel, Old Norse akka, Old Frisian anckel, and perhaps Old High German encha, ancha (“thigh, shin”), from the Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ (“…

ankel Middle English ancol Old English *ankul Proto-West Germanic *ankulaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# ankle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈæŋ.k(ə)l/
**Frequency rank:** 5765

## Meanings
1. The joint that connects the foot to the leg.

## Examples
- She twisted her ankle while running on the rocky path.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ankel
- Root: ancol
- Root: *ankul
- Root: *ankulaz

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng- Proto-Germanic *-ulaz Proto-Germanic *ankulaz Proto-West Germanic *ankul Old English *ancol Middle English ancle English ankle From Middle English ankel, ancle, ankyll, from Old English ancol (compare anclēow (“ankle”) > Modern English anclef, ancliff, ancley), from Proto-West Germanic *ankul, from Proto-Germanic *ankulaz (“ankle”); akin to Icelandic ökkla, ökli, Danish and Swedish ankel, Dutch enklaauw, enkel, German Enkel, Old Norse akka, Old Frisian anckel, and perhaps Old High German encha, ancha (“thigh, shin”), from the Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ (“…

## AI Etymology
Ankle comes from Middle English ankel, ancle, ankyll, from Old English ancol (compare anclēow (“ankle”) > Modern English anclef, ancliff, ancley), from Proto-West Germanic *ankul, from Proto-Germanic *ankulaz (“ankle”); akin to Icelandic ökkla, ökli, Danish and Swedish ankel, Dutch enklaauw, enkel, German Enkel, Old Norse akka, Old Frisian anckel, and perhaps Old High German encha, ancha (“thigh, shin”) The historical chain runs from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng- through Proto-Germanic *-ulaz, Proto-Germanic *ankulaz, Proto-West Germanic *ankul, Old English *ancol, and Middle English ancle to English ankle.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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