Join free

hank

English · Français · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

Hank¹

  • /ˈhæŋk/
  • [ˈhæŋk]
  • /ˈheɪ̯ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈheɪ̯ŋk] Canada, US
  • /ˈhɛ̃ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈhɛ̃ŋk] Canada, US

Sounds like hank · Rhymes with -æŋk

proper noun Hanks

  1. A diminutive of the male given name Henry.
  2. archaic A diminutive of the male given name Hankin (a medieval form of John).

hank²

  • /ˈhæŋk/
  • [ˈhæŋk]
  • /ˈheɪ̯ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈheɪ̯ŋk] ~ /ˈhɛ̃ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈhɛ̃ŋk] Canada, US

Sounds like Hank · Rhymes with -æŋk

Where it comes from

From Middle English hank, of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin; akin to Old Norse hǫnk (compare haki (“something bent”)), related to Proto-Germanic *hakô (“hook”). Akin to Old English hangian (“to hang”). First known use: 14th century.

noun hanks

  1. A coil or loop of something, especially twine, yarn, or rope. 1681, E.R., The Experienced Farrier, London, p. 307, […] the best thing of all to stop bleeding at the Nose, is to take a Hank of Coventry-blew thread, and hang it cross a stick, and set one end of it on fire […] and let him receive the smoak up his Nostrils […]
  2. A ring or shackle that secures a staysail to its stay and allows the sail to glide smoothly up and down.
  3. Ulster Doubt, difficulty.
  4. Ulster Mess, tangle.
  5. A rope or withe for fastening a gate.
  6. obsolete Hold; influence. Seldom doth a man fall into a Preſumptuous Sin, but vvhere the Devil hath got ſuch a hanke over him, […]
  7. A throw in which a wrestler turns his left side to his opponent, twines his left leg about his opponent's right leg from the inside, and throws him backward.

verb hanks · hanking · hanked

  1. transitive To form into hanks.
  2. UK, dialectal, transitive To fasten with a rope, as a gate. where stood a fyne howse newly built and vaulted, over wheron her armes was sett and hanked with tapestrye

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: ham, skein, coil, loop, curl, bundle, spool, reel, ball, plait, braid, strand, tress, ringlet, lock, twist

Translations

Every language

noun coil or loop

Françaisécheveau
Русскиймото́к motók

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"hank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hank. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hank. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hank

Chicago

"hank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hank.

BibTeX
@misc{hank_2026,
  title = {hank},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hank},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}