ankle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæŋ.kəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English anclēow (before 800), replaced in Middle English by forms from Old Norse (Old Icelandic ǫkkla, from *ankulan),^[2][3][4] cognate with Old High German anchal, enkil, Dutch enkel and German Enkel.^[2][4][5] They go back to an Indo-European root meaning to bend, also in Latin angulus, corner (see angle).^[2][6][4] The second part of anclēow may be a folk-etymological claw, or due to cnēow, knee, or a diminutive suffix.^[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The joint connecting the foot with the leg: about 1000 in the OED.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

The Middle English spellings ancle and ankle are from the 14th century,^[6][2] and ancle long remained common.^[7] The verb, to walk, is slang from 1926,^[7] and in cycling, to use the ankles well is from 1896.^[7] Merriam-Webster dates the slang verb ankle, to walk, from 1917.^[5]

Timeline

• before 800 – anclēow.^[2]
• 14th century – ancle, ankle.^[6]
• 1896 – to ankle (cycling).^[7]
• 1926 – to ankle, walk (slang).^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The joint connecting the foot with the leg.
2. The narrow part of the leg just above the foot.

Word family

• anklebone
• anklet
• ankle-deep

Related words

• angle
• anchor
• angler

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press