Definition of: shank

(shangk) noun
1. The leg proper; that part of the lower limb between the knee and the ankle.
2. A cut of meat from the leg of an animal; the shin.
3. The tarsus of a bird. See the illustration under FOWL.
4. Something resembling a leg.
5. The part of a tool connecting the handle with the working part, as the stem of a drill.
6. The projecting piece or loop by which some forms of buttons are attached.
7. The stem of an anchor.
8. The stem of a key between the bow and the bit.
9. The straight part of a hook.
10. The narrow part of a spoon handle.
11. A continuation of the tang of a tool or instrument.
12. Printing The body of a type.
13. The narrow part of a shoe sole in front of the heel. See illustration under SHOE.
14. Bot. A pedicel.
15. Colloq. The remainder or last part of a thing: the shank of the evening.
—v.i.
1. Bot. To decay or fall off the stem because of disease.
2. Scot. To travel on foot. [OE sceanca]