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Webster 1913 Edition

Ankle

An′kle

(ăṉ′k’l)
,
Noun.
[OE.
ancle
,
anclow
, AS.
ancleow
; akin to Icel.
ökkla
,
ökli
, Dan. and Sw.
ankel
, D.
enklaauw
,
enkel
, G.
enkel
, and perh. OHG.
encha
,
ancha
thigh, shin: cf. Skr.
anga
limb,
anguri
finger. Cf.
Haunch
.]
The joint which connects the foot with the leg; the tarsus.
Ankle bone
,
the bone of the ankle; the astragalus.

Webster 1828 Edition

Ankle

ANK'LE

,
Noun.
ank'l. The joint which connects the foot with the leg.

Definition 2025

ankle

ankle

English

Alternative forms

Noun

ankle ‎(plural ankles)

  1. The skeletal joint which connects the foot with the leg; the uppermost portion of the foot and lowermost portion of the leg, which contain this skeletal joint.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

ankle ‎(third-person singular simple present ankles, present participle ankling, simple past and past participle ankled)

  1. (US, slang) To walk.
    • 2009, Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice, Vintage 2010, p. 275:
      After a while he got up and ankled his way down the corridor and met Penny coming out of the toilet.
  2. (cycling) To cyclically angle the foot at the ankle while pedaling, to maximize the amount of work applied to the pedal during each revolution.

Etymology

From Middle English ankel, ancle, ankyl, from Old English *ancol (compare anclēow ‎(“ankle”) > Modern English anclef, ancliff, ancley), from Proto-Germanic *ankalaz ‎(“ankle”, “hip”); akin to Icelandic ökkla, ökli, Danish and Swedish ankel, Dutch enklaauw, enkel, German Enkel, Old Norse akka, Old Frisian anckel, and perhaps Old High German encha, ancha ‎(“thigh”, “shin”), from the Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ ‎(“ankle”, “hip”).

Compare with Sanskrit अङ्ग ‎(aṅga, “limb”), अङ्गुरि ‎(aṅguri, “finger”). Compare haunch and Greek prefix ἀγκυλο- ‎(ankulo-, “joint, crooked, bent”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈæŋ.kəl/
  • (US, also) IPA(key): /ˈeɪŋ.kəl/
  • Rhymes: -æŋkəl

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