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shank
shank / shangk/ • n. 1. (often shanks) a person's leg, esp. the part from the knee to the ankle: the old man's thin, bony shanks showed through his trousers. ∎ the lower part of an animal's foreleg. ∎ this part of an animal's leg as a cut of meat. 2. the shaft or stem of a tool or implement, in particular: ∎ a long narrow part of a tool connecting the handle to the operational end. ∎ the cylindrical part of a bit by which it is held in a drill. ∎ the long stem of a key, spoon, anchor, etc. ∎ the straight part of a nail or fishhook. 3. a part or appendage by which something is attached to something else, esp. a wire loop attached to the back of a button. ∎ the band of a ring rather than the setting or gemstone. 4. the narrow middle of the sole of a shoe. 5. inf. a dagger made by a prison inmate from available materials. • v. [tr.] Golf strike (the ball) with the heel of the club: I shanked a shot and hit a person on a shoulder. DERIVATIVES: shanked adj. [usu. in comb.] a long-shanked hook. |
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Cite this article
"shank." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "shank." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-shank.html "shank." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-shank.html |
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shank
shank shin-bone, tibia OE.; stem, shaft XVI. OE. sċeanca = LG. schanke, Flem. schank :- WGmc. *skankan, rel. to MLG. schenke, Du. schenk leg bone (:- *skankiz), LG., (M)HG. schenkel (:- *skankilaz); the base corr. formally to that of ON. skakkr (:- *skankaz) wry, distorted, lame, and Gr. skázein limp. Phrs. Shanks's mare, pony for ‘the legs as a means of transport’ are orig. Sc. (XVIII), the pl. of the common noun being joc. turned into a surname.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "shank." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "shank." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-shank.html T. F. HOAD. "shank." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-shank.html |
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shank
shank, that part of an anchor which connects the arms to the anchor ring.
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Cite this article
"shank." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "shank." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-shank.html "shank." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-shank.html |
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shank
shank
•ankh, bank, blank, clank, crank, dank, drank, embank, flank, franc, frank, hank, lank, outflank, outrank, Planck, plank, point-blank, prank, rank, sank, shank, shrank, spank, stank, swank, tank, thank, wank, yank
•sandbank • piggy bank • mountebank
•fog bank • mudbank • Bundesbank
•databank • riverbank • Burbank
•greenshank • sheepshank
•scrimshank • Cruikshank
•think tank • Franck • Eysenck
•bethink, blink, brink, chink, cinque, clink, dink, drink, fink, Frink, gink, ink, interlink, jink, kink, link, mink, pink, plink, prink, rink, shrink, sink, skink, slink, stink, sync, think, wink, zinc
•rinky-dink • Humperdinck • iceblink
•cufflink • bobolink • Maeterlinck
•lip-sync • countersink • doublethink
•kiddiewink
•tiddlywink (US tiddledywink)
•hoodwink
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Cite this article
"shank." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "shank." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-shank.html "shank." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-shank.html |
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