foot vs shank

foot

verb
  • To use the foot to kick (usually a ball). 

  • To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up. 

  • To tread to measure of music; to dance; to trip; to skip. 

  • To walk. 

  • To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.). 

  • To pay (a bill). 

noun
  • The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest. 

  • The basic measure of rhythm in a poem. 

  • Travel by walking. 

  • The end of a rectangular table opposite the head. 

  • In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant. 

  • The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward. 

  • The bottom edge of a sail. 

  • A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres. 

  • The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove. 

  • A short foot-like projection on the bottom of an object to support it. 

  • A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg. 

  • A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm. 

  • The bottommost part of a typed or printed page. 

  • Specifically, a human foot, which is found below the ankle and is used for standing and walking. 

  • The base or bottom of anything. 

  • The parsing of syllables into prosodic constituents, which are used to determine the placement of stress in languages along with the notions of constituent heads. 

  • The globular lower domain of a protein. 

  • The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc or a gastropod by which it moves or holds its position on a surface. 

  • Fundamental principle; basis; plan. 

  • The point of intersection of one line with another that is perpendicular to it. 

  • Foot soldiers; infantry. 

  • Recognized condition; rank; footing. 

  • The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting. 

  • The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked. 

shank

verb
  • To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction. 

  • To misstrike the ball with the part of the club head that connects to the shaft. 

  • To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; usually followed by off. 

  • To remove another's trousers, especially in jest; to depants. 

  • To provide (a button) with a shank (loop forming an eye). 

  • To apply the shank to a shoe, during the process of manufacturing it. 

  • To stab, especially with an improvised blade. 

noun
  • The center part of a fishhook between the eye and the hook, the 'hook' being the curved part that bends toward the point. 

  • A poorly played golf shot in which the ball is struck by the part of the club head that connects to the shaft. 

  • A redshank or greenshank, various species of Old World wading birds in the genus Tringa having distinctly colored legs. 

  • A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it. 

  • The main part or beginning of a period of time. 

  • Meat from that part of an animal. 

  • The handle of a pair of shears, connecting the ride to the neck. 

  • An improvised stabbing weapon. 

  • The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph. 

  • The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel. 

  • The end or remainder, particularly of a period of time. 

  • A loop forming an eye to a button. 

  • The metal part on a curb bit that falls below the mouthpiece, which length controls the severity of the leverage action of the bit, and to which the reins of the bridle are attached. 

  • A protruding part of an object, by which it is or can be attached. 

  • A straight, narrow part of an object, such as a key or an anchor; shaft; stem. 

  • The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle. 

  • Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round. 

adj
  • Bad. 

How often have the words foot and shank occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )