ankle

English

Human ankle

Alternative forms

• ancle (obsolete)

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæŋ.kəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æŋkəl

Noun

ankle (plural ankles)

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.

Coordinate terms

• spat
• wrist

Derived terms

• ankle-biter, ankle biter
• anklebone
• ankle boot
• ankle brace
• ankle bracelet
• ankle-deep
• ankle express
• ankleful
• ankle grazers
• ankleless
• ankle lock
• anklelock
• ankle monitor
• ankle slapper
• ankle sock
• anklet
• ankle walker
• anklewarmer
• anklewear
• brass ankle
• cankle
• interankle
• show ankle

 

Translations

joint between foot and leg

• Afrikaans: enkel (af)
• Albanian: noçkë (sq) f
• Arabic: كَاحِل m (kāḥil), كَعْب m (kaʕb)

  Egyptian Arabic: بز الرجل m (bez er-regl), انكل m (ankel)

• Armenian: կոճ (hy) (koč), ճան (hy) (čan)

  Old Armenian: կոճ (koč), պճեղն (pčełn)

• Asturian: todiellu (ast) m
• Avar: эгъе (eğe)
• Azerbaijani: topuq (az)
• Basque: orkatila (eu)
• Bau Bidayuh: gelangan betis
• Belarusian: шчы́калатка f (ščýkalatka)
• Bhojpuri: टखना (ṭakhᵊnā)
• Bhojpuri: टखना (ṭakhᵊnā)
• Bulgarian: глезен (bg) (glezen)
• Burmese: ဖမျက် (my) (hpa.myak), ခြေချင်းဝတ် (my) (hkrehkyang:wat)
• Catalan: turmell (ca) m
• Cebuano: buolbuol
• Central Sierra Miwok: kát·ala·la
• Chepang: युःमीक्
• Cherokee: ᎤᏣᏍᏆᎳᏛ (utsasqualadv)
• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 跤目 (zh-min-nan) (kha-ba̍k)

  Mandarin: (informal) 脚腕子 (zh) (jiǎowànzi), 腿腕子 (zh) (tuǐwànzi), (technical) 踝 (zh) (huái), 腳腕子 / 脚腕子 (zh) (jiǎowànzi), 腳踝 / 脚踝 (zh) (jiǎohuái)

• Chuvash: пакӑлчак (pak̬ălč̬ak)
• Coptic: ⲓⲛⲓ f (ini), ϣⲙⲟⲩ ⲛⲣⲁⲧ m (šmou nrat)
• Cornish: ufern m
• Czech: kotník (cs) m
• Danish: ankel (da)
• Dutch: enkel (nl) m
• Esperanto: maleolo
• Estonian: pahkluu
• Ewe: afɔkɔe n
• Faroese: økil m, økul m
• Finnish: nilkka (fi)
• French: cheville (fr) f
• Friulian: cjavile f
• Galician: nocello (gl) m, artello (gl) m, tornecelo (gl) m, noelo (gl) m, nortello (gl) m
• Georgian: კოჭი (ka) (ḳoč̣i)
• German: Knöchel (de) m, Fußknöchel (de) m

  Alemannic German: Chnode m

• Greek: αστράγαλος (el) m (astrágalos)

  Ancient: σφυρόν n (sphurón)

• Greenlandic: singerneq
• Hebrew: קרסול \ קַרְסֹל (he) m (karsol)
• Hindi: टखना (hi) m (ṭakhnā), गुल्फ (hi) m (gulph)
• Hungarian: boka (hu)
• Icelandic: ökkli (is) m
• Ido: stifto (io)
• Indonesian: pergelangan kaki (id)
• Irish: rúitín m, murnán m, caol na coise m, alt na coise m
• Italian: caviglia (it) f
• Ivatan: kasindan
• Japanese: 足首 (ja) (あしくび, ashikubi), 踝 (ja) (くるぶし, kurubushi)
• Khiamniungan Naga: tshà
• Khmer: កជើង (km) (kɑɑ cəəng)
• Korean: 발목 (ko) (balmok)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: gozek (ku) f

• Lao: ຂໍ້ເທົ້າ (khǭ thao), ຂໍ້ຕີນ (khǭ tīn)
• Latgalian: povuorška f
• Latin: tālus m
• Latvian: potīte f
• Linngithigh: owru
• Lithuanian: kulkšnìs m, kulnẽlis m
• Low German: Enkel m
• Macedonian: глужд m (glužd)
• Malay: pergelangan kaki, buku lali (ms)
• Malayalam: കണങ്കാൽ (ml) (kaṇaṅkāl), കണ്ണ (ml) (kaṇṇa)
• Maltese: għaksa (mt) f
• Marathi: गोफा m (gophā), गुल्फ m (gulpha)
• Mongolian: шагай (mn) (šagaj)
• Muong: cố chân
• Navajo: akétsíín
• Nepali: गोलीगाँठो (golīgā̃ṭho)
• Norman: g'vil'ye f
• North Frisian:

  Föhr: wrast

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ankel (no) m

  Nynorsk: ankel m, okle (nn) f or n

• Nyunga: balkart
• Occitan: cavilha (oc) f
• Old English: anclēow m
• Oromo: koomee
• Ottoman Turkish: آیاق بیلكی (ayak bileği)
• Persian: قوزک پا (quzak-e pâ), مچ پا (fa) (moč-e pâ), شتالنگ (fa) (šetâlang), بجول (fa) (bojul)

  Dari: بند پای (band-e pây)

• Polish: kostka (pl) f
• Portuguese: tornozelo (pt) m
• Romagnol: cavèja f
• Romanian: gleznă (ro) f
• Romansch: ravel m, rauer m, tganveala f, revel m
• Russian: лоды́жка (ru) f (lodýžka), щи́колотка (ru) f (ščíkolotka)
• Sanskrit: कुल्फ (sa) m (kulphá), गुल्फ (sa) m (gulphá)
• Sardinian: cambuciu m, cambutzu m, bultzedhu m
• Saterland Frisian: Onkel
• Scottish Gaelic: adhbrann m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: глежањ m

  Roman: gležanj (sh) m, člának (sh) m (Serbia)

• Sicilian: cavigghia (scn) f
• Slovak: členok (sk) m
• Slovene: gleženj (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: glozonk m, kóstka f

  Upper Sorbian: kulka f

• Southern Altai: ажык (ažïk)
• Spanish: tobillo (es) m
• Sudovian: kulnas
• Swedish: fotled (sv) c, vrist (sv) c, ankel (sv)
• Tagalog: buol, bukungbukong, bukong-bukong
• Tangut: 𗀉 (*kiej²)
• Taos: cʼòwowoʼóna
• Thai: ข้อเท้า (kɔ̂ɔ-táao)
• Tibetan: རྐང་ཚིགས (rkang tshigs)
• Tooro: akafumbarume class 12, akateerarume class 12, akakongoijo class 12, akanyamagita class 12
• Turkish: ayak bileği (tr), bilek (tr)
• Ukrainian: кі́сточка f (kístočka), щи́колотка f (ščýkolotka)
• Venetan: caùcia f, caìcia f, caécia f, cadìcia f
• Vietnamese: mắt cá chân, mắt cá (vi), cổ chân (vi)
• Volapük: futayoin
• Warlpiri: tari
• Welsh: migwrn (cy) m, pigwrn (cy) m, ffêr (cy) f, swrn m
• West Frisian: ankel
• White Hmong: pob taws
• Wolof: wëq
• Yiddish: קנעכל n (knekhl)
• Yoruba: ọrùn ẹsẹ̀, kókósẹ̀
• Zhuang: dabaeu

Verb

ankle (third-person singular simple present ankles, present participle ankling, simple past and past participle ankled)

1. (slang, transitive, intransitive) To walk.
   • 1948, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 1, in Seraph on the Suwanee‎^[1], New York: HarperPerennial, published 1991, page 5:

     Arvay’s tearful speech followed the usual pattern, and everybody said it was just fine. There had been nothing about the heathens of China, India and Africa wallowing around on the heavenly chairs, nor ankling up and down the golden streets.

   • 1951, Anthony Buckeridge, Jennings’ Little Hut, London: Collins, 1973, Chapter 15, p. 178,^[2]

     Supposing we all ankled over to the huts […]

   • 1966, P. G. Wodehouse, Plum Pie, London: Everyman, 2007, Chapter 6, p. 158,^[3]

     He ankled round, accordingly, to her house and his ring at the bell was answered by Wilberforce, her butler […]

   • 2009, Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice, Vintage, published 2010, page 275:

     After a while he got up and ankled his way down the corridor and met Penny coming out of the toilet.

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

Anagrams

• Kelan, kalen, Kalen