ankle

Meaning

Noun

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.

Verb

1. (ambitransitive, slang) To walk.
2. To cyclically angle the foot at the ankle while pedaling, to maximize the amount of work applied to the pedal during each revolution.

Synonyms

talus

tarsus

joint

ankle bone

anklebone

ankle joint

articulatio talocruralis

heel

mortise joint

lower leg

swift

walk

🚶

wrist

Achilles tendon

malleolus

talocrural

pastern joint

talocrural joint

astragalus

foot

🦶

footsore

hill

instep

joints

knee

knuckle

Translations

cheville

tobillo

caviglia

Knöchel

Fußknöchel

tornozelo

enkel

αστράγαλος

turmell

ayak bileği

cavilha

talus

كاحل

maléolo

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈæŋ.kəl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: ankel

Inherited from Old English: ancol

Cognate with English: anclef

Cognate with Icelandic: ökkla

Cognate with Dutch: enklaauw

Cognate with German: Enkel

Cognate with Old Norse: akka

Cognate with Old Frisian: anckel

Cognate with Old High German: encha

Cognate with Sanskrit: अङ्ग

Cognate with Latin: angulus

In summary

From Middle English ankel, ancle, ankyll, from Old English ancol (compare anclēow (“ankle”) > Modern English anclef, ancliff, ancley), from Proto-West Germanic *ankul, from Proto-Germanic *ankulaz (“ankle”); 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, joint”).
Compare with Sanskrit अङ्ग (aṅga, “limb”), अङ्गुरि (aṅguri, “finger”), Latin angulus. Compare haunch and Greek prefix ἀγκυλο- (ankulo-, “joint, crooked, bent”). Doublet of angulus and angle.