shank

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
shank/ʃaŋk/

▶noun

• 1 a person's leg, especially the lower part.

  ■ the lower part of an animal's foreleg, especially as a cut of meat.

• 2 a long, narrow part of a tool connecting the handle to the operational end.

  ■ the stem of a key, spoon, anchor, etc.

  ■ the straight part of a nail or fish hook.

• 3 a part by which something is attached to something else.

• 4 the band of a ring.

• 5 the narrow middle of the sole of a shoe.

▶verb Golf strike (a ball) with the heel of the club.

– derivatives
-shanked adjective.

– origin OE sceanca, of W. Gmc origin.