shank

C2+ Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction

US /ʃæŋk/ UK /ʃæŋk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the part of the leg between the knee and ankle, or a long narrow stem of a tool

He gripped the screwdriver by its slender steel shank.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the part of the leg between... shin leg stem shaft stalk

Word family

Related forms shanksjackshank

Etymology

From Old English sceanca ('leg, shin bone'), from Proto-Germanic *skankô ('that which is crooked, leg'), related to Old High German scinco ('thigh').

sceanca Old English *skankô Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Tools, Machines & Construction

External links

# shank

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ʃæŋk/
**IPA (UK):** /ʃæŋk/

## Meanings
1. the part of the leg between the knee and ankle, or a long narrow stem of a tool

## Examples
- He gripped the screwdriver by its slender steel shank.

## Synonyms
- shin
- leg
- stem
- shaft
- stalk

## Related Forms
- shanks
- jackshank

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sceanca
- Root: *skankô

## Etymology
From Old English sceanca ('leg, shin bone'), from Proto-Germanic *skankô ('that which is crooked, leg'), related to Old High German scinco ('thigh').

## AI Etymology
Shank comes from Old English sceanca ('leg, shin bone'), from Proto-Germanic *skankô ('that which is crooked, leg'), related to Old High German scinco ('thigh'). The historical chain includes Old English sceanca and Proto-Germanic *skankô. Older glosses in the chain include "leg, shin bone", "that which is crooked, leg", and "thigh", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, shank is best read as borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the part of the leg between the knee and ankle, or a long narrow stem of a tool". related forms include shanks and jackshank. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Tools, Machines & Construction

markdown