Meanings
mank1
present singular third person manks · participle present manking · participle past manked · past manked
- obsoletetransitiveTo mutilate.
mank2
- not comparableslangAntarcticaSynonym of manky (“being or having bad weather”).
This typical 'mank' weather does not stop fur seal pups from exploring.
1983, Portrait of Antarctica, page 1541 more example
Antarctica can be dingle, with clear skies, or mank, with nothing of the sort.
1978, Anthony Smith, Wilderness, page 40Synonyms: manky
- UKslanguncountableSomething that is disgusting or manky.
The plumber had to get all the mank out of the drain.
Mank3
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSynonym of manky (“being or having bad weather”).
Origin
mank · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*mank-
- Latinmancus“maimed, crippled, frail, incomplete”
- Old English*mancian
- Middle Englishmanken
- Englishmank
From Middle English manken, from Old English *mancian, bemancian (“to maim, mutilate”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Middle Low German mank (“lame, defective”), Dutch mank (“lame, defective”), and Middle High German manc (“lack, defect”). Perhaps from Latin mancus (“maimed, crippled, frail, incomplete”), from Proto-Indo-European *mank-, *menk- (“maimed, mutilation, torment”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →mank · adjective, noun
- Latinmancus“maimed”
- Italianmancare“to be lacking”
- Englishmank
Via Polari, from Italian mancare (“to be lacking”), from Latin mancus (“maimed”). See above.
More words from Italian, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with mank
Cite this entry
mank. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mank
“mank.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mank. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mank,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mank.
Source: mank on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.