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ankle.

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.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈæŋ.kəl/Received-Pronunciation[ˈæŋ.kʰəl] ~ [ˈæŋ.kʰl̩]Received-Pronunciation/ˈaŋ.kəl/British, Northern-England, Southern, Standard, Wales[ˈaŋ.kʰəl] ~ [ˈaŋ.kʰl̩]British, Northern-England, Southern, Standard, Wales

  1. 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.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng- Proto-Germanic *-ulaz Proto-Germanic *ankulaz Proto-West Germanic *ankul Old English *ancol Middle English ancle English ankle 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 enkel, enklaauw, 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.

verb/ˈæŋ.kəl/Received-Pronunciation[ˈæŋ.kʰəl] ~ [ˈæŋ.kʰl̩]Received-Pronunciation/ˈaŋ.kəl/British, Northern-England, Southern, Standard, Wales[ˈaŋ.kʰəl] ~ [ˈaŋ.kʰl̩]British, Northern-England, Southern, Standard, Wales

  1. To walk.

    ambitransitive · slang

  2. To cyclically angle the foot at the ankle while pedaling, to maximize the amount of work applied to the pedal during each revolution.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng- Proto-Germanic *-ulaz Proto-Germanic *ankulaz Proto-West Germanic *ankul Old English *ancol Middle English ancle English ankle 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 enkel, enklaauw, 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.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.