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Added 9 October 2026

flank

/flænk/ noun

In Latin: latus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about flank at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The side of military or naval formation.
they attacked the enemy's right flank
A subfigure consisting of a side of something.
A cut from the fleshy part of an animal's side between the ribs and the leg.

verb

Be located at the sides of something or somebody.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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