Webster's English Dictionary

shank

shank \'shank\ n [ME shanke, fr. OE scanca; akin to ON skakkr crooked, Gk 
   s]kazein to limp 1a: the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle in 
   man or the corres ponding part in various other vertebrates 1b: LEG  1c: a 
   cut of beef, veal, mutton, or lamb from the upper or the lower part o f the 
   leg : SHIN 2: a straight narrow usu. essential part of an object : as  2a: 
   the straight part of a nail or pin  2b: a straight part of a plant : STEM, 
   STALK  2c: the part of an anchor between the ring and the crown  2d: the 
   part of a fishhook between the eye and the bend  2e: the part of a key 
   between the handle and the bit  2f: the stem of a tobacco pipe or the part 
   between the stem and the bowl  2g: TANG  2h1: the narrow part of the sole 
   of a shoe beneath the instep  2h2: SHANKPIECE  3: a part of an object by 
   which it can be attached : as  3a1: a projection on the back of a solid 
   button  3a2: a short bar of thread that holds a sewn button away from the 
   cloth  3b: the projecting part of a knob handle that contains the spindle 
   socket  3c: the end (as of a drill) that is gripped in a chuck  4: BODY  
   5a: the latter part of a period of time  5b: the early or main part of a 
   period of time