▪ I. shank, n.
(ʃæŋk)
Forms: α. 1 sceanca, scanca, scance, 2–3 scanke, 3 (Ormin) shankk, 3–7 schank(e, shanke, 4 sschanke, 4–5 schanke, 6 shainke, shankke, sanke, shaunck, 6–7 shanck(e, 5– shank. β. 1 sconca, sconc, 3 sconke, shonke, (soncke), 3–4 schonke.
[OE. sc(e)anca wk. masc. corresponds to LG. schanke leg, thigh, Flem. schank bone (Sw., Da. skank, Norw. skonk thigh, prob. from LG.):—WGer. *skankan-; also, with difference of declension, to MLG. schenke, Du. schenk leg-bone (:—*skanki-); a derivative from the same grade of the root is MLG., MHG., mod.G. schenkel thigh (WGer. *skankila-). From other grades of the root (*skink-: *skank-: *skunk-) are OS. scinka, gl. L. ‘basis’, ‘tibia’ (MLG. schinke thigh, ham), OHG. scinko masc., scinka fem., leg-bone, thigh (MHG. schinke masc., thigh, ham, mod.G. schinken masc., ham); OFris. skunka, sconck (mod.Fris. skonk, schunk), LG. (Koolman) schunke thigh, ham, Du. schonk bone. The OE. str. form sconc neut. (see 1 e) may belong to either the a or the u grade.
The root agrees formally, and may be identical, with that of ON. skakk-r wry, distorted (:—OTeut. *skanko-), which is prob. cogn. w. Gr. σκάζειν (:—pre-Hellenic *sq'ngy-) to limp. Even assuming the identity of the root, however, the etymological meaning of the Teut. ns. remains obscure.]
1. a. That part of the leg which extends from the knee to the ankle; the tibia or shin-bone. Also (now jocularly) the leg as a whole; chiefly pl. one's legs.
| α c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xix. 33 Þa hi to þam hælende comon & ᵹesawon þæt he dead wæs ne bræcon hi na his sceancan. c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 160/15 Crus, scance; crura, sceanca. c 1200 Ormin 4775 Brest, & wambe, & þes, & cnes, & fet, & shannkess. a 1300 Cursor M. 14064 And sco hir vnttement me broght And smerd has me fote and schank. Ibid. 28002 If þou..has bituix hir scankes gan or tirid or tut or skirt vptan. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xviii. 81 Men ballokes hyngez doune to þaire schankes. c 1430 Chev. Assigne 326 Thenne thei styrte vp on hy with staloworth shankes. 1538 Elyot Dict., Parastata, also one of the bones in the shanke of the legge. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. x. 25 Sundry flowring bankes, To sit and rest the walkers wearie shankes. 1635 [Glapthorne] Lady Mother ii. i. in Bullen O. Pl. II. 131 Come, stir your shanks nimbly or Ile hough you. 1674 Scheffer Lapland v. 12 Slender wasts, spindle shanks, and swift of foot. 1784 Cowper Task v. 16 With eye askance I view the muscular proportion'd limb Transform'd to a lean shank. 1888 Stevenson Kidnapped xiv, My stockings..were quite worn through, so that my shanks went naked. 1890 H. G. Dakyns tr. Xenophon's Anab. iii. ii. Wks. I. 156 In fact we, on our stout shanks, are better mounted than those cavalry fellows. |
| β a 900 Kent. Glosses 58 in O.E. Texts 173 Tibiis, sconcum. a 1000 Sal. & Sat. 101 (Gr.), Læteð flint brecan scines sconcan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 211 At pleȝe þih and shonkes and fet oppieð, wombe gosshieð, and shuldres wrenchieð. c 1205 Lay. 5863 Lihteð of eowre blanken and stondeð on eowre sconken. a 1225 Ancr. R. 258 Þeo ilke reouðfulle garcen of þe luðere skurgen, nout one in his [Christ's] schonken, auh ȝeond al his leofliche licome. a 1225 Juliana 48 Ich habbe i-blend men ant ibroken ham þe schonken & te schuldren baðen. a 1450 Myrc Par. Pr. 780 Wrynge þou not wyth þy schonkes. |
b. Shanks' (or Shanks's) mare,
Shanks's pony, etc.: one's own legs as a means of conveyance.
| a 1774 Fergusson Poems (1807) 333 And auld shanks-naig wad tire, I dread, To pace to Berwick. a 1795 S. Bishop Poet. Wks. (1796) I. 204 I'd rather..ride on Shanks's Mare. 1823 Scott Fam. Lett. 11 Feb. (1894) II. xix. 167, I found shanksnaigie..the only way of moving by which I could get out to dinner. 1898 Watts-Dunton Aylwin xii. iii, I'll start for Carnarvon on Shanks's pony. |
c. The lower part of the foreleg of some animals,
spec. of a horse, that part between the so-called knee and the fetlock, corresponding to the metacarpus. Also, the tarsus of a bird; the tibia or fourth joint of the leg of an insect.
| [c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 362 Nim blæces hundes deades þone swyþran fotsceancan.] a 1000 Phœnix 310 (Gr.), Sindon þa scancan [of the Phœnix] scyllum biweaxen, fealwe fotas. 1545 T. Scalon Treat. Astron. (MS. Ashm. 391) lf. 1 In Tauro..the schank or sperlure. 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus ii. 82 b, Making him [Pan] to haue the head and shankes of a goate. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 147 The marrow of the shanks [of the Crane] is used in ophthalmick unguents. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 194 The Bees by their pale coloured Shanks at their return home, shew whence they have their Store. a 1777 Goldsm. Epil. Harlequin 31 ‘The deuce confound,’ he [the stag] cries, ‘these drumstick shanks.’ 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxii. (1818) II. 286 These legs..vary in larvæ of the different orders: but they seem in most to have joints answering to the hip (coxa); trochanter; shank (tibia). a 1843 J. F. South Zool. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VII. 284/1 The legs [of insects] are divided into five parts,—the hip, trochanter, thigh, shank, and foot. 1881 Romanes in Fortn. Rev. Dec. 751 The so-called knee of the horse is really the wrist or ankle, and the so-called shank, the middle toe or finger very much enlarged. |
d. As part of a joint of meat,
e.g. in a ham, a leg of mutton, etc.
| 1806 A. Hunter Culina (ed. 3) 180 Good broth, made of shank of beef, or veal and mutton. 1837 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. II. 279 A ham without its shank. 1877 Mrs. Forrester Mignon I. 60 He brings in triumph a basket out of which sticks the shank of a huge leg of mutton. 1908 C. H. Senn Pocket Dict. Foods & Culinary Encyclopædia 132 Shank Jelly, a kind of savoury jelly, lightly seasoned, recommended to weak people. |
† 2. pl. A kind of fur obtained from the legs of animals,
esp. kids, goats or sheep, used for trimming outer garments.
Obs.| 1480 Wardrobe Acc. Edw. IV in Privy Purse Esp. Eliz. York, etc. (1830) 116 A furre of blac bogy shanks. 1502 North Country Wills (Surtees) 268 My gowne of tawney furred with shankles [sic]. 1531 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 43 A nolde gowne of blake furryd with blake sankes. 1570 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1860) 330 One gowne faced with Shanks. 1607 Cowell Interpr. s.v. Furre, Shankes be the skin of the shanke or legge of a kind of kid which beareth the furre that we call Budge. |
3. Sc. A stocking, or that part of it which covers the leg;
esp. a stocking in process of being knitted. Also
U.S. pl. leggings.
| c 1546 P. Vaus in Agnew Hered. Sheriffs Galloway (1893) I. 362, I pray yow vat ye vaild send me sum mo schankis, for them that I haine vill be schone doine. 1603 Philotus xxx, Ȝour schankis of silk ȝour veluot schone. 1611 in W. Macgill Old Ross-sh. (1909) 142 Twa pair of schanks w{supt} ane hatt [etc.]. 1644–5 Aberd. Acc. in Spalding Club Misc. V. 164 Item, two pair wovin whyte shankis to him, at threttie shillings ye pair, 3 lib. a 1867 W. Anderson in Mod. Sc. Poets Ser. ii. (1881) 235 Jean scrapit a livin' wi' weavin' at shanks. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb (1873) 213 The lang evenin's 's drawin' on noo, an' it's tiresome nae to hae a bit shank to tak i' yer han' files. 1888 Harper's Mag. Oct. 510/1 Four or five pairs of heavy woollen socks cover his feet, and over them is placed a pair of caribou shanks. |
4. transf. † a. Each of the ‘legs’ of a pair of compasses. Also each of the ‘legs’ of a triangle.
Obs.| 1587 Golding De Mornay vii. 87 In the drawing of a Circle, the one shanke of the Compasses is set fast in some place, and the other shanke is caried round about. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. vii. xxxix. §5. 344 All men [have]..the shank of their Compasse so set in a center that the Circle of their lines are [etc.]. 1679 A. Lovell Indic. Univ. 159 The Isocele, or Triangle of equal Shanks. |
b. Each of the two portions of a pair of scissors between the bow and the joint.
| 1833 J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 40 Ladies' and fancy scissors, the shanks of which have been composed of rich open work. 1859 F. S. Cooper Ironmonger's Catal. 63 Scissors..Bent Blade and Shank. |
c. Arch. pl. The plane spaces between the grooves of the Doric triglyph.
| 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 593 Shanks; the intersticial spaces between the channels of the trigliph, in the Doric frieze; sometimes called Legs. 1836–50 Parker Gloss. Archit. (ed. 5). |
d. Each of the two checks or side-pieces of a spur.
5. The stem or straight part of anything.
Cf. shaft n.2 a. The stem of a goblet, glass, etc.
| 1553 Inv. Ch. Goods York, etc. (Surtees) 168 The foote, shancke, and knoppe of the challaice. 1583–4 New Yrs. Gifts in Nichols Progr. Eliz. (1823) II. 420 Oone sault, the foote, shainke, and cover of lapis-lazule. 1625 in Rymer Fœdera XVIII. 238/1 One Salte of Goulde..haveing uppon the Shanke three great course Saphires. 1826 Galt Last of Lairds iii. 28 He had the shank o' the very glass in his hand he had held to his old frien's lips. |
b. The straight part of a nail or pin, between the head and the taper of the point. Also of a drill or borer.
| 1483 Act 1 Rich. III, c. 12 §2 No Merchant Stranger..shall bring into this Realm..Latten Nails with Iron Shanks. 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, c. 6 Pinnes..such as shal..haue the heads soudered fast to the shanke. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. i. 7 An hole..to set the blunt end of the shank of the Drill in. 1725 Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Shoeing Horses, The Shanks of the Nails should be somewhat flat, and the Points sharp. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 20 A shank or small mandrel..with a square hole..at the end of it, into which drill bits of various sizes can be alternately inserted. 1840 P. Parley's Ann. I. 174 The coral animal is..not much larger than a pin's shank. |
c. The stem of a plant (
† Sc. also the trunk of a tree); the pedicel or footstalk of a flower; the footstalk or connecting part of any organ in a plant.
| 1513 Douglas æneis iv. viii. 70 And like as quhen the anciant aik tre, With his byg schank, be north wynd oft we se Is vmbeset. 1565 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 413 Ane penny..havand on the one syde ane palmetre crownit, ane schell padocke crepand up the schank of the samyn. 1617 Markham Country Housew. Garden ix. (1648) 96 Set slips without shankes any time, except [etc.]. [a 1693 Urquhart's Rebelais iii. xiii. 109 One Apple of the shortshank Pepin-kind.] 1710 Ruddiman Gloss. Douglas' æneis s.v. Schank, And Scot. the stalk of any herb or plant is called the shank. 1750 G. Hughes Barbados 211 Its long tubular shank is finely rayed, the inside with purple-bluish veins. 1751 Chambers Cycl. (ed. 7) s.v. Clove, Cloves must be chosen dry,..and if possible, with the shank on. 1796 C. Marshall Gardening xiv. (1813) 197 Earth up the shanks [of cucumber plants] with dry mould. 1820 Shelley Sensit. Pl. iii. 56 And the dock, and henbane, and hemlock dank, Stretched out its long and hollow shank. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 235 They are connected..by means of shanks or diverging limbs, which are attached to the neighbouring bundles on either side. |
† d. The tunnel of a chimney.
Obs.| c 1525 Contract in Gage Hengrave (1822) 42 The schanck of the chymnies. 1538 Elyot Dict., Fumarium,..also the shanke or tonell of a chymneye. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey). |
e. The shaft or stem of an anchor, connecting the arms and the stock.
| 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 40 Than thai maid fast the schank of the ankyr. 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 16 The Anchor hath a stocke, a ring, a shanke, a flouke. a 1779 Cook 3rd Voy. Pacific iii. viii. (1784) II. 129 The ring, with part of the shank, and the two palms [of the anchor] were now wanting. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 165 The shank lying athwartships under the boat. 1905 Geil Yankee in Pigmy Land xxv. 375 Had the steering gear of the ‘Flandre’ broken, we should have gone over the cataracts in spite of the shanks being ready to cast. |
† f. The stem of a candlestick.
Obs.| 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades iii. v. (1592) 347 So then Christ is the shanke or shaft of the candlesticke. 1611 Coryat Crudities 244 Hard by this Altar are two very rich candlestickes..; the whole shanke betwixt the base and the socket being about eight foot high. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Shank,..the Stem of a Candle-stick. |
g. The straight part of a fish-hook, to which the line is attached.
| a 1613 J. Dennys Secrets Angling i. xviii, His Shank should neither be to short nor long, His point not ouersharpe, nor yet too dull. 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece ii. ii. 331 Lay your Line on the Inside of the Shank. 1910 H. T. Sheringham in Encycl. Brit. II. 28/2 (Angling), A leaded hook round the shank of which is twisted bright-coloured wool. |
† h. The neck of a still or alembic.
Obs.| 1600 Surflet Country Farm iii. lxxvi. 608, C Is the shanke, which must be a foote long at the least, and is otherwise called the neck of the stillitorie. |
i. The cylindrical portion of a stop-cock.
| 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. Proem 11 There was soder'd on to the shank of the Cock..a Plate of Tin. 1797 J. Curr Coal Viewer 55 Injection Cocks. To be made of brass with square shanks. |
j. Typog. The body of a type, as distinguished from the shoulder, face, and foot.
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 390 The square Mettle the Face of a Letter stands on, is called the Shank of a Letter. 1885 Lock Workshop Rec. Ser. iv. 219/2 Low spaces and quads must all be raised to the level of the height of the shanks of the letters prior to moulding. |
k. The stem of a key, between the bow and the bit.
| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. i. 6 The shank of a Key also, or some such long hole, the Punch cannot strike. 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2132/4 Lost.., a large Key with a Coronet and fluted Shank filed cross. |
l. The stem of a tobacco-pipe.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xxii. (Roxb.) 271/2 Long shanks [of a Tobacco-pipe]... Short shanks or ends. Ibid. 272/1 A Shanking toole..to rub and polish and make smooth the shanks of the pipes. 1758 Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 404 Keep stirring the mixture with the shank of a tobacco-pipe. 1898 J. Macmanus Bend of Road 46 He ran a straw down the shank of his pipe. |
m. The slender part between the flattened handle and the bowl of a spoon; the narrow part of a spoon-handle. Also, the handle of a ladle.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xiv. (Roxb.) 6/1 Spoons are made plaine, but with wrought shanks, and heads with diuerse devises. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 585 By lifting it [the glass] out in flat copper ladles with iron shanks. |
n. The blank part of a screw, or screw-bolt, between the thread and the head.
| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ii. 28 You must make wide holes, big enough to receive the shank of the Screw. Ibid. 29 The shank of the Screw..must be Forged square near the Head. 1770 Luckombe Hist. Printing 300 The shanks of these Screws are made so long as to reach through the Head and through the Cap: at the upper-end of these shanks is made male-screws. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 217 The narrow part of slot slips down over shank of screw, and the head holds the shelf firmly in its place. |
o. Arch. The shaft of a column.
| 1736 Gentl. Mag. VI. 652/2 It [Pompey's Column] is made up of three Pieces, of which the Chapiter is one, the Shank and three Feet of the Basis forms the second, and the Basis compose the third. |
p. Sc. The shaft of a pit or mine.
| 1790 A. Wilson Poems 265 (Jam.) Nine score o' fathoms shanks down lead, To let the hammerin' core in. 1887 Service Dr. Duguid xxi. 138 This lowsing the stanes in the shank, so chirted oot the bratticing that at last [etc.]. |
q. The tang of a knife, chisel, etc. or part which is inserted in the handle; the continuation of the tang of a tool or instrument.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 388/1 The Shank [of a chisel]. 1807 J. Barlow Columb. vii. 346 Strong bayonets, with short firm shanks Protruded from their tubes. |
r. (
a) The part of a harpoon between the ‘socket’ and the ‘mouth’. (
b) The tapering part of an oar between the handle and the blade. (
c)
dial. The handle of a broom, rake, spade, etc.: see
Eng. Dial. Dict.| (a) 1820 W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 223. |
| (b) 1857 P. Colquhoun Comp. ‘Oarsman's Guide’ 30 The oar or scull [consists] of handle, loom, shank, and blade. 1898 Encycl. Sport II. 297/2 (Rowing) Oar... Its chief parts are—the blade, broad and thin, which is dipped in the water, the loom or shank, and the handle, which the oarsman grips. |
s. The stylet of a trocar.
| 1846 F. Brittan tr. Malgaigne's Man. Oper. Surg. 393 The surgeon..then plunges in the trocart by a sharp quick blow... He instantly withdraws the shank, supporting with his left hand the canula. |
t. The fang of a tooth.
rare.
| 1851 Mantell Petrifactions iii. §5. 245 The germ of the coronal portion of the tooth was first secreted and the entire crown completed before the formation of the shank or fang commenced. |
u. The narrow part of a boot or shoe which connects the sole with the heel; the waist.
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Shank-cutter, a machine or tool for cutting shanks for boots and shoes. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 830. |
v. That part of an axe-head which is between the edge and the back, which in some old forms is drawn out long and thin.
w. A straight piece of metal tubing fitted to a brass instrument to lower its pitch.
| 1885 G. B. Shaw in Our Corner Nov. 313 Brass instruments have resources in shanks and tuning-slides for flattening. 1938 Oxf. Compan. Mus. 114/1 By the addition [to a horn or trumpet] of a crook (a curved additional length of tubing) or a shank (a straight additional length), the fundamental note could be altered. 1977 Early Music V. 221/2 Every hand horn that we found..had a C alto shank among the set of crooks. |
6. A part or appendage by which something is attached. (
Cf. 6 c, ‘footstalk’.)
a. That part of a ring which encircles the finger.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 91/1 (Jewellers' terms.) Shank, is that part as compasseth the Finger, the Ring part. 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4691/4 A large enamelled Ring set like a Lozenge, with 18 Diamonds about the Stone and Shank. 1873 Catal. Loan Exhib. Anc. & Mod. Jewellery (South Kensington Museum) 72 Gold ring, the shank formed of leaves; in centre a transparent stone. 1928 Daily Express 18 June 5/2 The middle stone may be placed into a knife-edged shank with a ‘coronet’ setting, producing a solitaire ring. 1978 Morecambe Guardian 14 Mar. 16/5 Mrs Tyson was fined a further {pstlg}20 for stating orally..that a ring was solid gold when it had a hollow shank filled with wax. |
b. A lug, stud, or ear, projecting from an object, by which it is held, or which affords a bearing or point of attachment.
| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ii. 28 This spring is..fixed at the bottom of the Main-plate, by two small shanks proceeding from that edge of the spring that lies against the Main-plate..: These shanks are to be rivetted..on the other side of the Main-plate. |
c. (See
quot.)
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 462/1 The Shank [of the Clapper of a Bell], the length of it to the Ball. |
d. The wire loop by which some kinds of buttons are attached.
| 1790 H. Clay Patent in Repertory of Arts (1800) XII. 242 If a shank of metal is wanted or preferred,..the shank is to be put into or through a single piece or pieces of slate or slit stone,..leaving a metal stud, or other ornament, on the top of the button. 1837 Whittock Bk. Trades (1842) 86 (Button-maker), To this plate is soldered the eye or ‘shank’ made of wire. 1904 Quiller-Couch Fort Amity xv. 180 She..began with her embroidery scissors to snip at the shanks of its breast-buttons. |
7. In names of various tools and implements.
† a. A bone pin for slating.
Obs.| 1716 Ford (Northumbld.) Ch.-bks. (MS.), Paid for three pecks of shanks, from Newcastle, 3s. 8d. |
b. Founding. A clay-lined ladle having long handles, one of them
T-shaped, in which to carry molten metal from the furnace to the mould.
| 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 369 A double hand-ladle, or a shank. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Shank, a double hand-ladle, capable of holding 2 to 4 cwt. of melted metal, carried in foundries by from three to five men. |
c. pl. (See
quot.)
| 1850 Holtzapffel Turning III. 1265 The lenses..are brought to the circular form with flat pliers called shanks, the jaws of which are made of soft iron that they may more readily..take a firm hold. |
d. A short rope or chain (
spec. = † short for
shank-painter); ‘a tie-strap of a halter; the loose end of a rope or chain’ (
Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895).
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Shank, or shank-Painter, (in Sea-Affairs) a short Chain [etc.]. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Shank, a rope by which a horse is tied up in the stall. |
e. Fishing. (
a) A line of pots attached to a rope, used to catch crabs, whelks, etc. (
b)
= shank-net (see sense 12).
| 1962 Listener 28 June 1105/2 Not far short of 600 fathoms of rope go to one shank of pots (a shank holds thirty-six pots). 1971 Country Life 29 Apr. 1000 (caption) Fishermen shooting out their shank of pots. Between 24 and 70 pots are attached at intervals along the rope to form the shank. 1973 W. Elmer Terminol. Fishing ii. 72 Shanks are designed to be dragged in shallow waters. |
8. Sc. and
north. ‘The projecting part of a hill, or the narrow ridge, which, like a stem, joins the mass to the level ground’ (
Northumbld. Gloss. 1894).
| 1602 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 485/2 The south schank of ane hill callit the peithill. 1820 Blackw. Mag. Nov. 201, I thought I heard a queer unearthly greet coming down the shank, and wizing ay nearer, and nearer to the byre door. 1887 Scotsman 19 Mar., The long ‘shanks’ and the abounding waterfalls. |
9. dial. and
U.S. The latter end or part of anything: the remainder or last part of a thing. Esp. in
phr. shank of the evening.
| 1828 [Carr] Craven Gloss. II. 113 ‘The shank of the evening’, twilight. 1829 Virginia Lit. Museum I. 418/2 ‘Won't you spend the balance of the evening with me?’ In some places, shank is quaintly used with the same signification. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. II. 220 The shank of the day. 1856 P. Thompson Hist. Boston 722 Shank of the evening, the twilight or dusk of the evening, and in some cases the latter part of it. 1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy xviii. 280 Miller made him knock off along in the shank of the evening. 1972 Wodehouse Pearls, Girls, & Monty Bodkin vii. 97 ‘It's very late.’ ‘Shank of the evening.’ 1973 Publishers Weekly 19 Nov. 56/2 The stuff that makes the antennae of music pros and music-lovers twitch during cultural quarrels in the shank of a Lincoln Center evening. |
10. a. Some unidentified plant (
quot. 1657).
b. ‘A name applied to plants of the genus
Bryonia’ (Worcester 1860 citing
Johnson).
| 1657 Beck Universal Charac. K 8, Shanke herb. |
11. Golf. An act of striking the ball with the heel of the club.
| 1942 Sun (Baltimore) 8 July 12/7 It should be stated here that a slice isn't a shank. 1960 Times 31 May 4/1 Miss Price had a shank at the 13th. |
12. attrib. and
Comb., as
shank-end;
† shank-hook, a hook to secure the shank of an anchor when it is being drawn up to the ship's side;
shank-jelly (see
quot.);
† shank-main, the pastern (of a horse);
shank-net, a trawl-net used in shrimping;
shank-painter = painter2 1;
shank-piece (see
quot.);
† shank-pillion, a pommel.
| 1837 A. Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 170 Nah, mo lads, we'n get'n tot *shank end at year ageean. 1884 Lock Workshop Rec. Ser. iii. 197/1 Put one [file] in a vice and knock the shank end off. |
| 1485 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 38 Catte hokes with tree..v, *Shanke hokes..iij. |
| 1824 New Syst. Cookery 372 *Shank Jelly. Soak twelve shanks of mutton four hours... Pour three quarts of water to them [etc.]. 1898 Senn Culin. Encycl. 86 Shank Jelly. |
| 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Paturon de cheval, the *shanke⁓maine of a horse. |
| 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 14 *Shank Net or Shrimp Net, to be used from a Boat. |
| 1495 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 258 *Shankpayntours feble..ij, Bowpayntours for destrelles feble..j, Shankpayntors for destrelles worne & feble..ij. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. vii. 31 The Shank-painter is a short chaine fastend vnder the fore masts shrouds with a bolt to the ships sides, and at the other end a rope to make fast the Anchor to the Bow. 1642 H. Bond Boat Swains Art 17, 4 Shank Panters of 3½ inches. 1 Shank Panter for the Streame Anchor 3 inches. 1711 W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 37 To have Bolts for the Top-tackles, standing Parts of the Sheets, Shank-painter Chains. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 57 The shank painter is then passed. |
| 1885 Harper's Mag. Jan. 280/1 The sole in a machine-made shoe would mean a sole, an inner sole, *shank piece [etc.]. |
| 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 639/2 The furniture of his horse,..his *shaunckpillion without stirrops. |
▪ II. shank variant of
chank (
-shell).
| 1861 P. P. Carpenter Mollusca 33 (Cent.) The shank⁓shell is carved by the Cingalese; when found reversed it is considered sacred. |
▪ III. shank, v. (
ʃæŋk)
[f. shank n.] 1. dial. a. intr. To walk, to travel on foot; also with
const. away. Often
to shank it.
| a 1774 Fergusson Poems, King's Birthday 83 If baudrins slip but to the door,..I fear, She'll no lang shank upon all four This time o'year. 1862 A. Hislop Prov. Scot. 186 Them that canna ride, maun shank it. 1894 P. H. Hunter James Inwick ii. 29 He was michty weel pleased to..shank awa hame to Lempockshaws. 1901 G. Douglas Ho. Green Shutters 198 Let him shank it! We're in no hurry to have him home. |
b. trans. To cause to walk
off, to march (a person)
off;
refl. to take oneself
away.
| 1816 Scott Antiq. xxvii, Then shank yoursell awa to the double folk, or single folk. Ibid. xxxvi, Ye should baith be shankit aff till Edinburgh Castle. 1856 J. Ballantine Poems 55 He shankit the snab hame to cobble his shoon. 1898 E. W. Hamilton Mawkin iv. 47 And now shank yourself awa before I put hand till ye. |
2. intr. Of a plant or fruit: To decay at the stem or footstalk; to be affected with shanking; usually
to shank off. Also
pass. Cf. shanking 1.
| 1848 Turner in Beck's Florist I. 24 Entire beds [of pansies] have been known to shank off during a very hot summer. 1863 Darwin in Jrnl. Proc. Linnean Soc., Bot. VII. 70 Only four capsules [of a Linum] shanked off. 1892 Garden Aug. 193/3 The first season..the Grapes shanked badly. |
| fig. 1871 H. Macmillan True Vine v. 223 How often alas, is it true of the believer, that his fruit is shanked, remaining sour when it should become sweet and palatable! |
3. a. trans. Sc. To sink (a shaft) Also
absol. b. intr. dial. To knit stockings.
c. trans. in lens-making (see
shanking vbl. n. 2).
| 1821 Galt Ann. Parish vi. 64 Three new coal-heughs were shanked. 1825 Jamieson s.v., To shank for coals. |
| 1825 Jamieson, To Shank,..to knit stockings. 1900 C. Murray Hamewith 79 The auld wife's eident wheel gaes birr, The thrifty lasses shank wi' virr. |
4. Golf. To strike (the ball) with the heel of the club.
| 1927 Daily Express 26 Oct. 3/4 Of all the awful things a man may do to a golf ball the most demoralising and the most mystifying is to ‘shank’ it. 1942 Sun (Baltimore) 8 July 12/7 Try to shank one. That's about the best cure I know after thirty years of golf. 1976 Par Golf Aug. 39/2 He had shanked his second and bunkered his third. |