The story
Originally sheepshank knot or sheepshanks knot, from sheep + shank (“part of the leg between the knee and ankle”); the connection between the knot and a sheep’s leg is unclear.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
sheepshank
sheep·shankToday it means: A type of knot which is useful for shortening a rope or taking up slack without cutting it. Full definition →