different between flans vs flank

English

Noun

flans

1. plural of flan

Anagrams

• SANFL, SFnal, sfnal

French

Noun

flans m

1. plural of flan

Latin

Etymology

Present participle of fl?.

Participle

fl?ns (genitive flantis); third-declension one-termination participle

1. breathing
2. blowing

Declension

Third-declension participle.

¹When used purely as an adjective.

References

• flans in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)

English

Alternative forms

• flanck (obsolete)

Etymology

From Late Middle English flanc, from Late Old English flanc (“flank”), from Old French flanc, of Germanic origin, probably Frankish *hlanca, from Proto-Germanic *hlank? (“bend, curve, hip, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“flexible, sleek, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng- (“to bend”). Akin to Old High German hlanca (“loin”), Middle Low German lanke (“hip joint”) (German lenken (“to bend, turn, lead”)), Old English hlanc (“loose, slender, flaccid, lank”). More at lank.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæ?k/
• Rhymes: -æ?k

Verb

flank (third-person singular simple present flanks, present participle flanking, simple past and past participle flanked)

1. (transitive) To attack the flank(s) of.
2. (transitive) To defend the flank(s) of.
3. (transitive) To place to the side(s) of.
   • c. 1728, Christopher Pitt, Epistle to Mr. Spence

     Stately colonnades are flank'd with trees.

4. (intransitive) To be placed to the side(s) of something (usually in terms of two objects, one on each side).

Translations

Noun

flank (plural flanks)

1. (anatomy) The flesh between the last rib and the hip; the side.
2. (cooking) A cut of meat from the flank of an animal.
3. (military) The extreme left or right edge of a military formation, army etc.
4. (military) The sides of a bastion perpendicular to the wall from which the bastion projects.
5. The side of something, in general senses.
   • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter VIII

     Cautiously I approached the flank of the cliffs, where they terminated in an abrupt escarpment as though some all powerful hand had broken off a great section of rock and set it upon the surface of the earth.

6. The outermost strip of a road.
7. (soccer) The wing, one side of the pitch.
8. That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth that lies within the pitch line.

Synonyms

• (all senses): side
• (side of formation): wing

Derived terms

• (flesh between the last rib and the hip): flank steak

Translations

Adjective

flank (not comparable)

1. (US, nautical, of speed) Maximum. Historically faster than full speed (the most a vessel can sustain without excessive engine wear or risk of damage), now frequently used interchangeably. Typically used in an emergency or during an attack.