flank

Meanings

Verb

• To attack the flank(s) of.
• To defend the flank(s) of.
• To place to the side(s) of.
• To be placed to the side(s) of something (usually in terms of two objects, one on each side).

Noun

• The flesh between the last rib and the hip; the side.
• A cut of meat from the flank of an animal.
• The extreme left or right edge of a military formation, army etc.
• The sides of a bastion perpendicular to the wall from which the bastion projects.
• The side of something, in general senses.
• The outermost strip of a road.
• The wing, one side of the pitch.
• That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth that lies within the pitch line.

Adjective

• Maximum. Historically faster than full speed (the most a vessel can sustain without excessive engine wear or risk of damage), now frequently used interchangeably.

Related

Similar words

• side
• wing

Origin

• From Late Middle English flanc, from Late Old English flanc, from Old French flanc, of Germanic origin, probably Frankish *hlanca, from Proto-Germanic *hlankō, from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kleng-. Akin to Old High German hlanca ("loin"), Middle Low German lanke ("hip joint") (German lenken), Old English hlanc ("loose, slender, flaccid, lank"). More at lank.