whank

English

Alternative forms

• wank

Noun

whank (plural whanks)

1. (Scotland, Northern England) A strike with the fist; a blow; a knock.

   A whank at the door.

2. (Scotland, Northern England) A large portion, slice or lump.

Verb

whank (third-person singular simple present whanks, present participle whanking, simple past and past participle whanked)

1. (Scotland, Northern England) To beat; to thrash; to whip; to lash.
2. (Scotland, Northern England) To cut, especially to cut off a large portion.

Derived terms

• whanker
• whanket
• whanking

References

• Wright, Joseph (1905) The English Dialect Dictionary‎^[1], volume 6, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 440

Scots

Alternative forms

• whang, whaing, wheang, wheing, whing, whyng, whaunk

Noun

whank (plural whanks)

1. A strike with the fist; a blow; a knock.
2. A large portion, slice or lump.
   • 1915, David Johnstone Beattie, Oor Gate En':

     The toodies were being screwed oot o' a big whank o' dough.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1925, Elliot Cowan Smith, Mang Howes an Knowes‎^[2]:

     It serrd naething for ti stert simmereen an wuntereen, for it's ill speakin atween a fowe man an a fastin; bit A bocht an ett twae cookies an a whank o cheese ti keep iz gaun till A wan ti Jethart.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Verb

whank (third-person singular simple present whanks, present participle whankin, simple past whankit, past participle whankit)

1. To beat; to thrash; to whip; to lash.
   • 1807, James Ruickbie, “Epistle to Mr. J___ Y___, Merchant”, in The Way-Side Cottager, page 175:

     But tho' I get my hurdies whankit, / An' wi' the hare-brain'd core be rankit

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1864, William Duncan Latto, Tammas Bodkin: Or, The Humours of a Scottish Tailor‎^[3], page 375:

     Straucht across the rig frae fur to fur I walkit, whankin' doon whatever opposed my progress—corn, thristles, carl-doddies, broom-cowes—every green herb, in short, an' ilka time I cam' oot o' the corn I brocht nae less than a sheaf in my oxter […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. To cut, especially to cut off a large portion.
   • 1864, William Duncan Latto, Tammas Bodkin: Or, The Humours of a Scottish Tailor‎^[4], page 68:

     My faither had nae patience to lowse the raips frae the parcel, but sent me up for the sheers, wherewith he whankit them aff, juist as if they had been a wheen beasin' steeks, greatly to my mither's horification, wha said it was "sae wasterfulike."

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• “whang”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 30 April 2018, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.