shank

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)keng-“to hobble, limp; to tilt”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*skankô“shank; thigh”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*skankō
4. Old English · inherited fromsċanca
5. Middle English · inherited fromsceonke
6. English todayshank

Inherited from Middle English sceonke, schank, schanke, shanke, schonke, sconke, sschanke, from Old English sċanca, sċeanca, sċeonca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (“shank; thigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (“to hobble, limp; to tilt”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian skonk (“leg”), Dutch schenkel (“shank”), German and Luxembourgish Schenkel (“thigh”), Danish skank (“shank; leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk skank, skonk (“thigh; foot”), Swedish skank, skånk (“leg”); also Cornish kamm (“pace, step”), Irish céim (“pace, step”), Manx keim (“degree, pace, stage, step”), Scottish Gaelic ceum (“pace, step”), Welsh cam (“pace, step”), Greek σκάω (skáo), σκάζω (skázo, “to burst, explode”), Bulgarian and Macedonian шега́ (šegá, “jest, joke; prank”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 18th century The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph.