lank

Meaning

Adj

1. Slender or thin; not well filled out; not plump; shrunken; lean.
2. (obsolete) Meagre, paltry, scant in quantity.
3. Straight and flat; thin and limp. (Often associated with being greasy.)
4. (obsolete) Languid; drooping, slack.

Verb

To become lank.

Synonyms

lean

thin

spindly

lanky

spare

skinny

gaunt

meager

scrawny

slender

slim

rangy

peaked

rawboned

raw boned

refined

scraggly

shrivelled

shrunken

sleazy

slight

slimsy

subtile

subtle

svelte

tactful

tenuous

ticklish

waspish

weak

withered

wizen

wizened

gossamery

wearish

not bulky

slab sided

angular

marcid

dainty

delicate

exquisite

fine

flabby

flimsy

gangling

gangly

hollow

meagre

nice

Translations

flaco

lacio

schmächtig

boylu

enjuto

ince

tenik

λεπτός και αδύνατος

dünn

strähnig

dürr

mince

zirav

ισχνός

hutzelig

Pronounced as (IPA)

/læŋk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: lank

Inherited from Old English: hlanc

Cognate with German: lenken

Cognate with Old High German: hlanca

Cognate with English: link

In summary

From Middle English lank, from Old English hlanc, from Proto-West Germanic *hlank, from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“lank, thin”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng- (“to bend, turn, wind, twist”); compare German lenken (“to turn”), Gelenk (“joint”), Old High German hlanca (“hip, side, flank”), and English link (of a chain).