flank
nounEtymology From Late Middle English flanc, from Late Old English flanc (“flank”), from Old French flanc, of Germanic origin, probably Frankish *hlanca, from Proto-West Germanic *hlanku (“bend, curve, hip, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“flexible, sleek, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng- (“to bend”). Akin to Old High German hlanca (“loin”), Middle Low German lanke (“hip joint”) (German lenken (“to bend, turn, lead”)), Old English hlanc (“loose, slender, flaccid, lank”). More at lank.
10 senses
- 1The lateral flesh between the last rib and the hip.
- 2A cut of meat from the flank of an animal.
- 3The extreme left or right edge of a military formation, army etc.
- 4The sides of a bastion perpendicular to the wall from…
- 5The side of something, in general senses.
- 6Either of the two pockets located on the seat of a pair of pants.
- 7An ideological faction within a political party.
- 8The outermost strip of a road.
- 9The wing, one side of the pitch.
- 10That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth…
Government, Military, Politics, War The extreme left or right edge of a military formation, army etc.
Government, Military, Politics, War The sides of a bastion perpendicular to the wall from which the bastion projects.
The side of something, in general senses.
- Cautiously I approached the flank of the cliffs, where they terminated in an abrupt escarpment as though some all powerful hand had broken off a great section of rock and set it upon the surface of the earth.1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter VIII, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:
- Ahead the flanks of the Pennines gleamed faintly in the moonlight, looking as though they themselves were part of some dry and deserted lunar landscape.1960 January, G. Freeman Allen, “"Condor"—British Railways' fastest freight train”, in Trains Illustrated, page 48:
Business, Clothing, Fashion, Lifestyle, Manufacturing, Textiles Either of the two pockets located on the seat of a pair of pants.
- I took the quarter and hid it in my right flank.
Government, Politics An ideological faction within a political party.
- Ford survived a primary challenge in 1976 from the right flank of the Republican Party by Ronald Reagan.
The outermost strip of a road.
Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Soccer, Sports The wing, one side of the pitch.
- The hosts also had Paul Robinson to thank for a string of saves, three of them coming against Jerome Thomas, who gave Michel Salgado a torrid time down the left flank.2011 January 23, Alistair Magowan, “Blackburn 2 - 0 West Brom”, in BBC:
That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth that lies within the pitch line.
- Derived terms
- flankwise
- Related terms
- flank eruption, flank speed, flank steak, oblique flank