Etymograph

English

shank

Shank comes from Old English sċanca ‘leg’, from Proto-West Germanic *skankō ‘thigh, shank’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- ‘to hobble, limp’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)keng-‘to hobble, limp’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skankôreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skankō‘thigh, shank’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċanca‘leg’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sceonke
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600shank

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)keng-‘to hobble, limp’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skankôreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skankō‘thigh, shank’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sċanca‘leg’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sceonke
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600shank

Earliest quotation: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- ‘to hobble, limp’

skink, 2 more

Today it means

noun The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- / shank

Shirt and support for this word