- shank (v.)
- 1927, originally in golf, "to strike (the ball) with the heel of the club," from shank (n.). Related: Shanked; shanking.
- shank (n.)
- Old English sceanca "leg, shank, shinbone," from Proto-Germanic *skankon- (cf. Middle Low German schenke, German schenkel "shank, leg"), perhaps literally "that which bends," from PIE root *skeng- "crooked" (cf. Old Norse skakkr "wry, distorted," Greek skazein "to limp"). Specifically, the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle. Shank's mare "one's own legs as a means of transportation" is attested from 1774.