Adjacent Words

Shank definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHANK, n.
1. The whole joint from the knee to the ankle. In a horse, th epart of the fore leg between the knee and footlock.
2. The tibia or large bone of the leg; as crooked shanks.
3. The long part of an instrument; as the shank of a key.
The beam or shaft of an anchor.
4. A plant. [bryonia.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a cut of meat (beef or veal or mutton or lamb) from the upper part of the leg
2: the part of the human leg between the knee and the ankle
3: cylinder forming a long narrow part of something [syn: shank, stem]
4: cylinder forming the part of a bolt between the thread and the head
5: cylinder forming the part of a bit by which it is held in the drill
6: the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide part of the sole [syn: shank, waist]
7: lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals [syn: cannon, shank]
8: a poor golf stroke in which the heel of the club hits the ball v
1: hit (a golf ball) with the heel of a club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English shanke, from Old English scanca; akin to Old Norse skakkr crooked, Greek skazein to limp Date: before 12th century 1. a. the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle in humans or the corresponding part in various other vertebrates b. leg c. a cut of beef, veal, mutton, or lamb from the upper or the lower part of the leg ; shin — see beef illustration 2. a straight narrow usually essential part of an object: as a. the straight part of a nail or pin b. a straight part of a plant ; stem, stalk c. the part of an anchor between the ring and the crown — see anchor illustration d. the part of a fishhook between the eye and the bend e. the part of a key between the handle and the bit f. the stem of a tobacco pipe or the part between the stem and the bowl g. tang 1 h. (1) the narrow part of the sole of a shoe beneath the instep (2) shankpiece 3. a part of an object by which it can be attached: as a. (1) a projection on the back of a solid button (2) a short stem of thread that holds a sewn button away from the cloth b. the end (as of a drill bit) that is gripped in a chuck 4. a. the latter part of a period of time b. the early or main part of a period of time <11 p.m. on the East coast is merely the shank of the evening on the West coast> 5. slang an often homemade knife • shanked adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1927 to hit (a golf ball or shot) with the extreme heel of the club so that the ball goes off in an unintended direction; also to kick (a football) in an unintended direction

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a the leg. b the lower part of the leg; the leg from knee to ankle. c the shin-bone. 2 the lower part of an animal's foreleg, esp. as a cut of meat. 3 a shaft or stem. 4 a the long narrow part of a tool etc. joining the handle to the working end. b the stem of a key, spoon, anchor, etc. c the straight part of a nail or fish-hook. 5 the narrow middle of the sole of a shoe. Phrases and idioms: shanks's mare (or pony) one's own legs as a means of conveyance. Derivatives: shanked adj. (also in comb.). Etymology: OE sceanca f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shank Shank, n. (Zo["o]l.) See Chank.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shank Shank, n. [OE. shanke, schanke, schonke, AS. scanca, sceanca, sconca, sceonca; akin to D. schonk a bone, G. schenkel thigh, shank, schinken ham, OHG. scincha shank, Dan. & Sw. skank. [root]161. Cf. Skink, v.] 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. --Shak. 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. See Illustr. of Anchor. (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. --Gwilt. 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. (Zo["o]l.) 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Canon Can"on, n. [OE. canon, canoun, AS. canon rule (cf. F. canon, LL. canon, and, for sense 7, F. chanoine, LL. canonicus), fr. L. canon a measuring line, rule, model, fr. Gr. ? rule, rod, fr. ?, ?, red. See Cane, and cf. Canonical.] 1. A law or rule. Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. --Shak. 2. (Eccl.) A law, or rule of doctrine or discipline, enacted by a council and confirmed by the pope or the sovereign; a decision, regulation, code, or constitution made by ecclesiastical authority. Various canons which were made in councils held in the second centry. --Hock. 3. The collection of books received as genuine Holy Scriptures, called the sacred canon, or general rule of moral and religious duty, given by inspiration; the Bible; also, any one of the canonical Scriptures. See Canonical books, under Canonical, a. 4. In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order. 5. A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church. 6. A member of a cathedral chapter; a person who possesses a prebend in a cathedral or collegiate church. 7. (Mus.) A musical composition in which the voices begin one after another, at regular intervals, successively taking up the same subject. It either winds up with a coda (tailpiece), or, as each voice finishes, commences anew, thus forming a perpetual fugue or round. It is the strictest form of imitation. See Imitation. 8. (Print.) The largest size of type having a specific name; -- so called from having been used for printing the canons of the church. 9. The part of a bell by which it is suspended; -- called also ear and shank. Note: [See Illust. of Bell.] --Knight. 10. (Billiards) See Carom. Apostolical canons. See under Apostolical. Augustinian canons, Black canons. See under Augustinian. Canon capitular, Canon residentiary, a resident member of a cathedral chapter (during a part or the whole of the year). Canon law. See under Law. Canon of the Mass (R. C. Ch.), that part of the mass, following the Sanctus, which never changes. Honorary canon, a canon who neither lived in a monastery, nor kept the canonical hours. Minor canon (Ch. of Eng.), one who has been admitted to a chapter, but has not yet received a prebend. Regular canon (R. C. Ch.), one who lived in a conventual community and follower the rule of St. Austin; a Black canon. Secular canon (R. C. Ch.), one who did not live in a monastery, but kept the hours.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(shanks) 1. The shank of an object is the long, thin, straight part of the object. These hooks are sharp with long shanks. N-COUNT 2. Shanks are the lower parts of the legs; used especially with reference to meat. Turn the shanks and baste them once or twice as they cook. N-COUNT: usu pl

Moby Thesaurus

Chateaubriand, ankle, ascender, back, bastard type, bayonet legs, beard, belly, bevel, black letter, blade roast, body, bowlegs, breast, brisket, calf, cap, capital, case, chuck, chuck roast, clod, cnemis, cold cuts, counter, descender, drumstick, em, en, face, fat-faced type, feet, filet mignon, flank, font, foreleg, gamb, gambrel, gigot, groove, ham, hind leg, hock, italic, jamb, knee, knuckle, leg, letter, ligature, limb, logotype, loin, lower case, majuscule, minuscule, nick, pale, palisade, peg, pi, pica, picket, pile, plate, plate piece, podite, point, popliteal space, pot roast, print, rack, rib roast, ribs, roast, rolled roast, roman, round, rump, rump roast, saddle, sans serif, scissor-legs, script, shin, short ribs, shoulder, shoulder clod, sirloin, small cap, small capital, spile, stake, stamp, stem, stems, stumps, tarsus, tenderloin, trotters, type, type body, type class, type lice, typecase, typeface, typefounders, typefoundry, upper case