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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson continues to make strides in his recovery from a second surgery-inducing stress fracture in his left ankle. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2025 Stephen Curry scored 26 points before suffering a minor ankle injury late, and Andrew Wiggins had a game-high 31 to lead Golden State. —Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2025 Sara comes from a society where the wrong grammar choice, or lack of glove, or showing the wrong part of your ankle is shocking and horrifying. —Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2025 UConn is 2-2 in its four Big East games since McNeeley went down with a high ankle sprain on New Year’s Day. —Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 18 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for ankle 

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

Phrases Containing ankle

Dictionary Entries Near ankle

ankh

ankle

ankle biter

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Ankle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ankle. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

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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

Nglish: Translation of ankle for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of ankle for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ankle

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