SHANK • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Shank

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/ʃæŋk/ Listen

noun

Shank n. (Zool.) See Chank.

Shank n.

1.

The part of the leg from the knee to the foot; the shin; the shin bone; also, the whole leg. "His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank."

2.

Hence, that part of an instrument, tool, or other thing, which connects the acting part with a handle or other part, by which it is held or moved. Specifically:

(a)

That part of a key which is between the bow and the part which enters the wards of the lock.

(b)

The middle part of an anchor, or that part which is between the ring and the arms.

(c)

That part of a hoe, rake, knife, or the like, by which it is secured to a handle.

(d)

A loop forming an eye to a button.

3.

(Arch.) The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph.

4.

(Founding) A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it.

5.

(Print.) The body of a type.

6.

(Shoemaking) The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel.

7.

(Zool.) A wading bird with long legs; as, the green-legged shank, or knot; the yellow shank, or tattler; called also shanks.

8.

pl. Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.

Shank painter (Naut.), a short rope or chain which holds the shank of an anchor against the side of a vessel when it is secured for a voyage.

To ride shank's mare, to go on foot; to walk.

verb

Shank v. i. To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off.

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Etymology of 'Shank'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Shank" Quotes from Famous Books

... was a day of misfortunes. The weather was thick and lowering; the wind rapidly increasing; to half a gale, and the little vessel straining heavily at her anchor. In heaving up, a sudden jerk broke it short off at the shank, the metal about the broken part proving to have been very indifferent. She now ran very cautiously and anxiously towards the light, and into the bay, no pilot being in sight. For some time all ...

— The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter • Raphael Semmes

... is hemispherical and convex, and the exact shape of it is of great importance. It has a rim with slightly rounded surface. The diameter of the mouthpiece varies according to the player and the pitch required. With the first crook, or rather shank, and mouthpiece, the length of the trumpet is increased to six feet, and the instrument is then in the key of F. The second shank transposes it to E, the third to E flat, and the fourth to D. The fifth, and largest—two ...

— Scientific American Supplement No. 819 - Volume XXXII, Number 819. Issue Date September 12, 1891 • Various

... the approach of the Master, who said to him, 'In youth not humble as befits a junior; in manhood, doing nothing worthy of being handed down; and living on to old age:— this is to be a pest.' With this he hit him on the shank with his staff. CHAP. XLVI. 1. A youth of the village of Ch'ueh was employed by Confucius to carry the messages between him and his visitors. Some one asked about him, saying, 'I suppose he has made great progress.' 2. The Master said, 'I observe that he is fond of occupying the seat of ...

— The Chinese Classics--Volume 1: Confucian Analects • James Legge

... new building between him and me. Then I fairly hooked it along the back of the building and rounded the far corner of it. As I did so I saw out of the tail of my eye that he was coming full speed after me and was calling policeman No. 2 to his aid. I darted like a red-shank round the next corner out of sight of both policemen, and looked for ...

— My Adventures as a Spy • Robert Baden-Powell

... Starfish Island again, but nothing flying in the blue except a slow hawk or some wandering gull, or now and then an eagle—sometimes a mature bird, in all the splendor of white head and tail, sometimes a young bird, seemingly larger, and all gray from crest to shank. ...

— Blue-Bird Weather • Robert W. Chambers

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