Flank definition
The flank of a mountain.
An attack on both flanks.
Two stone lions flanked the entrance.
An example of the flank is the side of a person, basically a few inches above the waistline.
When there is a bookcase on both sides of a fireplace, this is an example of a situation where the bookcases flank the fireplace.
Flanked the driveway with tall shrubs.
Origin of flank
- Middle English from Old English flanc from Old French flanc of Germanic origin
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Late Middle English flanc, from Old French flanc, of Germanic origin, probably Frankish *hlanca, from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“flexible", "to bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng- (“to bend”). Akin to Old High German hlanca (“loin”), Middle High German lanke (“hip joint”) (German lenken (“to bend, turn, lead”)), Old English hlanc (“loose, slender, flaccid, lank”). More at lank.
From Wiktionary