ankle

noun

an·​kle ˈaŋ-kəl How to pronounce ankle (audio)
1
: the joint between the foot and the leg
also : the region of this joint
2
: the joint between the cannon bone and pastern (as in the horse)

Examples of ankle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bryant helped the Lakers win the 2000 NBA title in a six-game series over the Indiana Pacers, despite suffering from a sprained ankle during Game 2 and Game 3. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2024 Golden State was without Steph Curry (ankle sprain) and Draymond Green, who was a late scratch with low back soreness. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 On one early pull-up jumper, Forbes leaned to the floor and put her hand to her ankle in a too-small taunt. Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 11 Mar. 2024 In the fourth quarter, Aakash Price fell to the floor with an ankle injury. Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024 The judge listed several factors that led to his decision, including the fact that Diego had cut off his ankle monitor following his release from U.S. immigration custody and later had been able to obtain or provide false documents. Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2024 The 21-year-old missed much of 2023 after operations on both wrists and an ankle, but returned to the court this year where she’s won just three matches in four tournaments. Ben Church, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 Adebayo appeared to tweak his ankle before then colliding with Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks a few seconds later. Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2024 Reserve Parker Braun suffered an ankle injury late in the first half. Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ankle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ancle, ankill, perhaps going back to an unattested Old English outcome of Germanic *ankula- (whence Old Frisian & Middle Dutch ankel "ankle," Old High German anchal) alongside *ankila- (whence 16th-century Dutch enckel "ankle," Middle Low German enkel, Old High German enchil) and *ankilōn-, *ankulōn- (whence Old High German anchla, anchala, anchila "ankle," Old Norse ǫkkla), diminutive of a base seen in *ankjōn- (whence Old High German ancha, anca "limb, nape of the neck," Old Norse ekkja "heel"), of uncertain origin

Note: Middle English ancle is often presumed to have been borrowed from a Scandinavian predecessor (with a preserved nasal consonant) of the Norse etymon attested as ǫkkla in Old Icelandic. Complicating the already complex mixture of forms given above are Middle English anclee, anclowe and their modern dialect descendants such as ancliff, ankley, which go back to Old English anclēow, anclēowe "ankle," cognate with Old Frisian onklef, anklef, Middle Dutch anclau, anclief, Old High German anchlao; these appear to show conflation with the outcomes of Germanic *klawō- "claw" (as Old English clawu, clēa "claw, hoof"; see claw entry 1). Germanic *ankula- is usually further identified with Indo-European *h2eng-(e)lo- (see angle entry 1), though the etymon could equally well be derived within Germanic from the base *ank- seen in Old High German ancha. The latter has been connected with Sanskrit áṅgam "limb, member" and aṅgúliḥ, aṅgúriḥ "finger, toe," which appears to have suffixation similar to Germanic *ankula-.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ankle was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near ankle

Cite this Entry

“Ankle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ankle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ankle

noun
an·​kle ˈaŋ-kəl How to pronounce ankle (audio)
: the joint between the foot and the leg
also : the region of this joint

Medical Definition

ankle

noun
an·​kle ˈaŋ-kəl How to pronounce ankle (audio)
1
a
: the joint between the foot and the leg that constitutes in humans a ginglymus joint between the tibia and fibula above and the talus below

called also ankle joint

b
: the region of the ankle joint
2
: the joint between the cannon bone and pastern (as in the horse)

More from Merriam-Webster on ankle

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