shank

[shangk] /ʃæŋk/
noun
1.
Anatomy. the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and the ankle; leg.
2.
a corresponding or analogous part in certain animals.
3.
the lower limb in humans, including both the leg and the thigh.
4.
a cut of meat from the top part of the front (foreshank) or back (hind shank) leg of an animal.
5.
a narrow part of various devices, as a tool or bolt, connecting the end by which the object is held or moved with the end that acts upon another object.
6.
a straight, usually narrow, shaftlike part of various objects connecting two more important or complex parts, as the stem of a pipe.
7.
a knob, small projection, or end of a device for attaching to another object, as a small knob on the back of a solid button, or the end of a drill for gripping in a shaft.
8.
the long, straight part of an anchor connecting the crown and the ring.
9.
the straight part of a fishhook away from the bent part or prong.
10.
Music. crook1 (def 8).
11.
Informal.
  1. the early part of a period of time:
    It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.
  2. the latter part of a period of time:
    They didn't get started until the shank of the morning.
12.
the narrow part of the sole of a shoe, lying beneath the instep.
13.
shankpiece.
14.
Printing. the body of a type, between the shoulder and the foot.
15.
Golf. a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft.
16.
the part of a phonograph stylus or needle on which the diamond or sapphire tip is mounted.
17.
Jewelry. the part of a ring that surrounds the finger; hoop.
verb (used with object)
18.
Golf. to hit (a golf ball) with the base of the shaft of a club just above the club head, causing the ball to go off sharply to the right.
verb (used without object)
19.
Chiefly Scot. to travel on foot.
Compare shanks' mare.
Idioms
20.
shank of the evening, the main or best part of the evening:
Don't leave yet—it's just the shank of the evening.
Origin
before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English sc(e)anca; cognate with Low German schanke leg, thigh; akin to German Schenkel thigh, Schinken ham
Related forms
unshanked, adjective
Examples from the web for shank
  • If a solid veal rump roast is going to break the budget, consider braising a whole veal shank.
  • IT is no news that we're in a phase where beef cheeks, oxtail and even beef shank are bringing top dollar in fancy restaurants.
  • It is attached with two galvanized steel shackles to an eye at the tip of the anchor shank.
  • It tilts sideways on the harbor bed, attached by its stemlike shank to a chain, and then to a buoy at the surface of the water.
  • They have a heel where they curve upward and an upright shank where they are attached to the carriage.
British Dictionary definitions for shank

shank

/ʃæŋk/
noun
1.
(anatomy) the shin
2.
the corresponding part of the leg in vertebrates other than man
3.
a cut of meat from the top part of an animal's shank
4.
the main part of a tool, between the working part and the handle
5.
the part of a bolt between the thread and the head
6.
the cylindrical part of a bit by which it is held in the drill
7.
the ring or stem on the back of some buttons
8.
the stem or long narrow part of a key, anchor, hook, spoon handle, nail, pin, etc
9.
the band of a ring as distinguished from the setting
10.
  1. the part of a shoe connecting the wide part of the sole with the heel
  2. the metal or leather piece used for this
11.
(printing) the body of a piece of type, between the shoulder and the foot
12.
(engineering) a ladle used for molten metal
13.
(music) another word for crook (sense 6)
verb
14.
(intransitive) (of fruits, roots, etc) to show disease symptoms, esp discoloration
15.
(transitive) (golf) to mishit (the ball) with the foot of the shaft rather than the face of the club
Word Origin
Old English scanca; related to Old Frisian schanke, Middle Low German schenke, Danish, Swedish skank leg
Word Origin and History for shank
n.

Old English sceanca "leg, shank, shinbone," specifically, the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle, from Proto-Germanic *skankon- (cf. Middle Low German schenke, German schenkel "shank, leg"), perhaps literally "that which bends," from PIE root *skeng- "crooked" (cf. 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).

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 in Medicine

shank (shāngk)
n.
The part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

Slang definitions & phrases for shank

shank

noun
  1. A stiletto-like weapon: We'd yoke him with a shank/ looks like a large screwdriver and is known in prison parlance as a shank (1950s+ Prison & street gang)
  2. The end or last part of a period of time, esp of the evening • Also interpreted as the early or chief part of a period of time: Let's have one for the road, my friends; it's the shank of the evening (1828+)
verb
  1. To stab: that dude the dicks want for shanking his old lady
  2. To kick: is shanking punts all over the lot (1970s+ Football)

[all senses reflect the basic notion of something long and thin, like a leg bone]