shank

 
Pronunciation: /ʃaŋk/

noun

  • 1 (often shanks) a person’s leg, especially 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: many fast animals have long shanks or calves
  • the shank of an animal’s leg as a cut of meat: meals like ham hocks and lamb shanks are cooked with reasonably priced cuts of meat
  • 2the shaft or stem of a tool or implement, in particular:
  • a long, narrow part of a tool connecting the handle to the operational end: gouges vary in the amount of curve or sweep on the cutting edge and the form of the shank
  • the cylindrical part of a bit by which it is held in a drill.
  • the long stem of a key, spoon, anchor, etc.: all Roman lever keys have a tubular shank
  • the straight part of a fish hook.
  • 3a part or appendage by which something is attached to something else, especially a wire loop attached to the back of a button.
  • the band of a ring rather than the setting or gemstone.
  • 4the narrow middle of the sole of a shoe: a rigid leather boot with a full shank

verb

[with object] Golf
  • strike (the ball) with the heel of the club: I shanked a shot and hit a person on a shoulder

Derivatives

shanked

adjective
[usually in combination]: a long-shanked hook

Origin:

Old English sceanca, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch schenk 'leg bone' and High German Schenkel 'thigh'. The use of the verb as a golfing term dates from the 1920s